Crow
by AshTurtle
Summary: After a fire turns her life into ashes, young she-wolf Karasu has to pick up the paces. After he loses his first love, Zero has to scramble around in the dark to pick up the pieces ... again.
1. Chapter 1

I don't really remember how I ended up stuck in a cage, but here I was. I had managed to get myself caught up on the wrong end of a tripwire. I had been looking for food, anything to keep me going just a little bit longer. My grand prize was a mixture of corn, alfalfa, and raw beef. I'm pathetic.

I crouched in the corner, leaning against the chain links of my cage. I was in the middle of nowhere. The sun would be setting soon and it got cold out here real fast, trust me I know. The trappers had the decency to set up under a tree in case it rained on whatever they caught. Unfortunately I hadn't a clue how long it had been out here for, I hoped at least two days, that way they'd have to come and check it.

Night fell over the countryside, it was almost peaceful out. Even with the light of the stars, it was still pitch black out. Granted I didn't need much light to see. The world took on a slight golden tint whenever the moon peeked over the top of the horizon, the result of my many defects.

The animals stayed away from my cage, though I could smell them, I didn't see them anywhere. They knew that anything inside this thing was marked for slaughter, I was no exception. Though I dreaded the trappers coming in to find a 17 year old girl in one of their traps, I dreaded what I would have to do to them when they got me out. It would be too much work to explain why I was in the trap, why I was alone in the middle of the sticks and most importantly, why I had glowing yellow eyes. I would have to rip them apart.

That thought was pushed out of my head and replaced by a new one. "Fuck it's cold!"

I leaned off the side of the cage and looked around. The only place that wasn't touching metal was the plate of meat mush in the middle of the cage. It smelled pretty rank and I hated the idea of sitting in it. It was either this or die of cold.

I got out of the corner and went over to the plate of mush and tried to settle in. It had a strange mix of crunchy and squishy texture to it. The wet sound it made when I laid down in it 'bout made me blow chunks. On the bright side, it was surprisingly warm. I guess the alfalfa acted as a conductor and the fact that it wasn't touching the metal was also a plus. I didn't much care. The countryside had granted me levity and I was thankful, if only for a moment.

The sun rose far too early, I can't recall when I fell asleep but the sun woke me up right quick. With any luck, the trappers would come and let me out. Then …

The smell of a human got me on my feet. I may've been a monster but I still wasn't goin' down swinging'. It was only one man, I could hear his heart. It was even, maybe 75 bpms. Don't ask how I know this. It sorta just clicked into place, like some fucked up jigsaw puzzle. The edges of my vision went a shade of gold and the world came into focus. I could see everything! The aphids on the leaves, the edges of the pebbles, all of it was in focus. It was a bit of a visual overload, but still really cool.

The man came into view, he wore glasses and had his hair pulled up in a ponytail. He had no gun. Why did he have to make it so easy? He did walk with a walking stick. Perhaps he could use it a pipe and defend himself that way. I can hear the hum in the air. The hunter in me is poised to strike.

He stops in front and stares right at me. The early morning sun obscures his eyes so I can't see them. He tilts his head to the side, confused. He looked almost childlike.

"Well aren't you all out of your element, little one." His voice his calm and high pitched. "Let's get you out of there, little pup."

I hiss in surprise and throw myself forward on instinct. He's smart enough to fling himself to the side. He caught the hem of my pant leg as I burst out. I ate dirt.

"Get off me!"

"You don't need to be afraid, I won't hurt you and I know you won't hurt me either." He spoke with gentleness.

That threw me for a loop. He didn't have much of a weapon, save that walking stick. He hadn't swung at me yet and the worst thing was that I now had dirt to add to the repertoire of shit I'm now covered in.

"How do you know that? I could tear you apart!" He was right but I kinda wanted to hear his reasoning.

"If you wanted me dead, you wouldn't be talking to me. You would have been snarling at me." Damn his logic!

"Fair enough, but why didn't you just beat me with your stick?" I asked.

"I don't believe in violence." He spoke with an aura of pride as if he took pride in his pacifism. I admit it, I envied him.

"And yet, you're a hunter." It wasn't a question.

"If you mean the boar trap, then no," He looked at the boar trap with hatred. "If you meant that I hunted vampires, then yes, I did."

The stupid part of my brain noted that it was hilarious that I was caught in a pig trap. Fuck you twisted hand of fate! I shook my head and refocused my still reddened vision

"Did?"

"Yes," there was that pride again. "I now am a headmaster at a school now."

"Really?" I couldn't keep the exuberance out of my voice. I might've been the only teenager in the world that missed learning, even if it was from my mother.

'Yes!" He chirped. "Though I think we can discuss that later. For now, let's get you cleaned up. No offense, you smell!"

"Gee thanks!" I can't deny him, I do stink. Still it's not nice to say that to a lady.

"Oh and by the way, what's your name?" He asks.

"Karasu, Karasu Parquet."

I walked with the strange man, who named himself as Headmaster Cross, back to his cabin. He said that he rented this place out during the summer, to enjoy the peace and quiet. It was old, rundown, and unassuming.

"It's lovely." I say.

"Isn't it though?" He grins and runs inside. I have to admit it. His joy is contagious.

I follow him inside and am surprised to find it's quite clean. It has a slight hint of lavender. Perhaps he's got some flowers growing in a sill somewhere. The rooms are lit with old fashioned lamps, or are at least at night. Now the daylight fills the rooms, all four of them. The thing that strikes me is that he's not alone. Someone is in the bathroom brushing his teeth.

He spots me in his reflection and whirls around. His eyes flash from lavender to crimson and my vision goes gold again. Huh, when did that stop? His hair is silver and the stupid part of my brain thinks of something my mama said when I was little

"All angels have white hair and subtle variations of blue." So close...

He's no angel, he's a monster. Just like me. His eyes are so inhuman and now that I catch his scent, I can tell he's not human. He's a vampire.

"Who is she?" His voice had a cold rasp to it, like it hadn't been used in a while. Headmaster Cross looked at the silver haired boy, quite shocked.

"Zero, you can talk!"

"Of course I can!" He looks a tad miffed. "Now who is the filthy mutt?"

"You're insane!" Zero whisper-shouted. Now that I could sit down and really look at him, I could only really see another monster. He's apparently a member of the Hunter Association, which is a contradiction in itself.

He had been arguing for my death for over an hour now. His argument hinged on the fact that I was acting feral since I came here citing that only a beast would consider a boar trap a viable source of food. I have no idea how he knew about that. He also brought up the valid point of how since he came in, my eyes hadn't faded.

The Headmaster's argument was basically, "teach them compassion by showing them compassion". I'll admit it; even I couldn't choose either side. I want to be good. I know I can be good. Just like Mama taught me. I was good.

The two talked like a father and son, despite the fact that Zero insisted they weren't related. The only difference was their dynamic was reversed. The Headmaster was a child, arguing to take in the stray mutt. Zero, however, was a level headed adult who knew better. As we all know however, you don't lose against the child's blackmail.

"Remember Zero, it was a risk to take you in, and that turned out alright." Headmaster Cross pointed out.

Zero 'bout lost it.

He went rigid. His eyes flared and his lip curled back over his fangs. Cross didn't bat an eye but I got to my feet. I was pretty passive through the whole argument but Zero losing his cool (you can't lose what you never had) and threatening Cross was where I drew the line. Even if he wasn't in any real danger, it was the least I could do to thank him for letting me out of the trap.

The same could be said for me, my eyes shown gold, my teeth, and I added a low growl from the back of my throat. The message was clear enough, don't fuck with Cross!

"Now ladies, calm yourselves, you're both lovely." Headmaster Cross did his best to relieve the tension. I think he only made Zero madder.

"Do you not see this, she wants our flesh! This beast is feral!"

"Hey, pardon me for defending a friend from a monster. And as a fellow monster, I can safely assert that you and I are one in the same save for the forms we choose to take." At that point Zero stormed off.

"Well, it's settled then. You will attend Cross Academy when the school year resumes in the fall. Good luck, friend." He gave me a warm smile and went off to find Zero.

That night, after the world's best shower, I slept on the couch. Once Zero had calmed down enough to make a public appearance, he was actually quite a quiet person. Zero was nestled in a nearby armchair. He had decided on watching me sleep. Yes, that is just as unsettling as it sounds. What is this, some mad-lived teen romance novel?

"Am I so enthralling that the idea of watching me sleep is just too much to resist?"

"Just making sure the Headmaster doesn't regret his decision to let you live." He spoke in a hush, so as to not wake the Headmaster.

"Then tell me, Zero, why do you want my head on a pike so badly."

"I've heard of your kind and they're just as vicious as the vampires. I don't like the idea of mixing the two monsters." He gave me an almost pained look, like he was remembering something particularly unpleasant.

"Who was she?"

"What?" Now that was the sound of a confused vampire.

"The vampire who hurt you, duh." Now I was just screwing with him now. "Or was it a guy, hey man I don't judge…"

"Karasu!" Zero whisper-shouted. His face was slightly red and he looked really uncomfortable.

"What I'm curious, I wanna know."

"Curiosity killed the cat, remember."

"Well it's a good thing I'm a dog then huh?"

"Whatever, you need to sleep. We leave for the Academy in the morning."

"Please, I won't be able to sleep anyways." I gave him my best puppy dog eyes and considering I was a puppy, that was saying something

"Fine," Zero conceited. "Her name was Yuki, she was my best friend. She had always been infatuated with a particular vampire and whenever she found out about what kind of a monster I was. She tried to help me. I begged her to stay away from us both, but she didn't listen. She joined him and still stays with him. We still go to school together. It still hurts to look at them."

He sounded broken. His voice had grown tight and he was doing his best not to sob. I immediately regret my earlier comments. He was in pain.

I got up and sat on the arm of the armchair and pulled him into a tight hug. He didn't flinch nor did he show any signs of disgust. He buried his face into my shoulder and I didn't recoil at the idea of having a vampire hear me. He was a broken little boy and he needed a hug, badly.

I rubbed comforting circles in his back and he let out a subtle whimper. I felt a few tears soak through my shirt; I didn't think he had the ability to cry. I scratched his back with my nails and hummed a quiet indiscernible lullaby. He pulled back a little bit and looked at me.

"Why are you being so nice to me? We hate each other remember?" He gave a slight tilt of his head.

"I can't stand to see anyone upset. No matter what the reason. As for what I said earlier, I do apologize. I was being' rather mean." I gave him my best warm smile and resumed my lullaby.

"Thank you," He laid his head back on my shoulder and relaxed enough that he fell asleep. He must've been exhausted. I uncurled myself from the chair and went back to my couch. Zero snored quietly in the chair.

That morning, I was up first. I guess Zero was truly down for the count because that boy was gone. Headmaster Cross got up not long after I did and we started on breakfast. I'll admit I love to cook. Mama said everyone, man or women, needed to learn.

The Headmaster and I didn't need to speak much. He had a passion for cooking and I just liked to watch him work. When food was clearly on the way, he asked me to go and wake the sleeping Zero on the couch.

"Oh and by the way, I should remind you that Zero can be a little bit irritable in the mornings. He doesn't have his gun on him I hope" He gave me a knowing look and I swear that man's eyes saw everything.

"Gee, I hadn't noticed!"

I walked into the sitting room and looked over at the armchair. Zero was still dead. He almost looked like a child when he slept. He snored subtly and he was curled up in a ball. I came over and knelt near his head. Rubbing his head gently, I whispered his name.

"Zero, Zero wake up. Breakfast will be ready soon."

He opened his eyes about halfway before shooting up in shock and whirling to look at me. His eyes were burning red but the moment he realized it was only me, they returned to a placid purple pigment.

"The Headmaster was right; you are irritable in the morning." I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Sorry, you startled me," he wasn't looking me in the eye. He had dark circles underneath his eyes that gave him the look of recovering from a broken nose. To sum it up, he looked like shit.

"You look terrible, couldn't sleep?"

"No, not really," He muttered

"Breakfast will be ready in a moment."

When I returned to the kitchen, I sat at the small dining table. I was a pale wooden round table that was only big enough to seat three. Cross had set out the plates as well as a glass of juice for each of us. It would be the first real meal I've had in almost a year.

Zero came in a couple minutes later. His hair was a mess and he still looked half asleep. He sat down across from me and commenced to stare at me. This boy had no sense of manners at all, did he?

"Zero, take a picture, it'll last you longer."

He snapped out of his daze. What was he thinking about anyway?

"Sorry, I zoned out." He still had a distant look in his eye. "How'd you sleep?"

"Not bad, all things considerin'

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked incredulously.

"Well I was being watched."

"That was a necessary precaution!" He defended.

"And it will no longer be needed," Cross interjected. I'd almost forgotten he was here.

"Thank God!" I shouted. Hey, despite the insight into his psyche I got last night. I still didn't like the idea of being watched over by Zero.

As Cross set breakfast down, the room fell quiet. I didn't mind the quiet, I was eating. It had been far too long since I'd eaten normal food so I was engrossed in it. They were also eating in silence, I'll admit it now, Headmaster Cross could cook.

When food was done with we sat there. Cross had a few things to iron out before we left so we had to stay seated.

"Karasu, please tell me, how long have you been on your own like this?" The Headmaster asked.

"About a year,"

"Why?"

"My house burned down, I had nowhere else to go."

"No relatives?"

"All died in the fire or, in the case of my father, MIA."

"You were educated privately?"

"My parents brought in a tutor. It was the summer so he wasn't there at the time."

"Were all your relatives … like you?"

"Yes, at least as far as I know."

"You'd be going into your final year of high school, correct?"

"Yes and can we stop with the interrogation?"

"Yes, I think that'll be sufficient. I'll see about digging up some of your records, perhaps we can see about that absentee father of yours." Cross stood up and gestured for us to follow.

They had apparently put their things in the trunk of a car last night so all we had to do was get in and drive. Zero and I sat in the back seat and Cross drove. I assumed Zero took the back seat with me so he could sleep, but he stayed awake.

We drove onto a dirt road that I hadn't noticed before. My senses must be getting dull. We then got onto a small paved road and kept on that for a couple of hours before finally getting onto a proper motorway.

I wanna point out that this was like only my third time in a car and I was nervous as hell. Mama never drove much and so it was not an experience I had ever grown accustomed to.

I was looking around and couldn't sit still. My leg kept twitching. I let out a nervous whine and I felt somebody scoot beside me. Zero had switched to the seat near mine. He reached out and squeezed my hand.

"Not good with car rides, huh?"

"No, I've only done it a couple of times. It's sorta unnecessary when you can walk as long as I can." I whispered to him.

He leaned over and wrapped an arm 'round my shoulders and pulled me into a one armed hug. He was surprisingly warm and it was definitely calming. I noted Cross's smile in the rear view mirror.

Zero rested his head on top of mine and didn't let go of my hand. He would rub my shoulder every time we hit a particularly bumpy bit of road or made to sharp a turn. And I swear Cross was doing it on purpose. Eventually Zero and I both fell asleep.

I awoke to Cross telling us that we were almost there. He was grinning stupidly. I nudged my head into Zero's shoulder and eventually he woke up. This time it wasn't as violent a reaction as the time previous, now he was simply embarrassed.

"Sorry, I fell asleep on you again, didn't?" His voice was low and scratchy again. He really wasn't a morning person was he?

"Yeah, but to be fair, I didn't stop you. On either occasion, it was partially my fault."

"And it's adorable!" Cross, and I shit you not, squealed. Sometimes, I wonder …

Zero rolled his eyes and scooted a little way away, though he didn't let go of my hand. He was a very strange boy, one minute he's staring at you with malice and contempt and the next he's falling asleep on your shoulder. He is by far the moodiest person I've ever met.

Then again, Cross was a character himself. On the one hand, he holds himself on a very mature moral code and yet can and will unabashedly squeal like a little girl. He's been so incredibly nice and yet I can't quite tell why.

It took ten more minutes to finally reach civilization. The town itself was small. People were horridly going about their busy lives. Some were selling food, others opening up shop for the day and even some were walking to work. I was almost surreal. It was just like the town that I grew up in.

I felt a pang of longing go through me. I missed home. I missed my mama, my auntie and uncle, even my shitty cousins. This place felt so familiar and so alien at the same time that I almost couldn't stand it.

Just like that, we were driving out. Zero must've sensed my distress for he squeezed my hand tighter.

That's when the smell hit me. Granted, Zero stank of vampire and I'd sorta gotten used to it. This was different; this was a whole coven of them. I could smell their scents in the trees. This place was covered in it. My vision tinged yellow again. I was in danger.

Zero squeezed my hand again.

"I know. I can smell it too. Don't worry, they won't get to you. Most of, if not all of them are asleep at the moment."

"That's gonna take some getting used to." Then something clicked in my head. "Hey, shouldn't you be asleep during the day; is that why you're so tired?"

"No, I take my classes in the day. So I'm up during the day." He said that as if it should've been obvious.

"Right…"

Then a tall building came into view. It was surrounded by several smaller and yet still daunting buildings. The grounds were well kept and as we got closer, I could see students milling about. They all wore the same black uniform and I was painfully reminded of the fact that I had to borrow Zero's clothes as I hadn't any of my own anymore. The fact that we were the same size in pants still made me laugh. Zero hadn't found it as amusing.

I could feel Zero grow more on edge the closer we got. He wasn't much a fan of this place. The vampire hunter in him must be wrenching at the presence of so many vampires. Worse still, it must be a painful reminder of what happened with Yuki. It couldn't be easy coming back here.

The car came to a slow stop in a parking place hidden amongst the trees. I got out.

"Welcome to Cross Academy." Cross spoke.


	2. Chapter 2

I'll give Zero this; he's a pretty nice guy. He put the idea in Cross' head that he and I should take a shortcut through a patch of trees rather than cause unnecessary commotion by going through a crowd of Day Class students. Cross had agreed saying that he needed to take care of a quick matter of business but to meet him in his office.

When Cross had disappeared in the buzz of students Zero turned to me.

"You're welcome," he spoke flatly.

"Was my discomfort that obvious?"

"You are many things, subtle isn't one of them." Zero almost smiled, almost.

He turned on his heels and headed towards the patch of trees. I followed behind him. The smell of vampire was even more prevalent in these trees than in the parking lot. I know part of that is because of Zero but still. It absolutely reeks out here.

"This trail is normally used when _they_ are being escorted onto the grounds," Zero told me. Oh how ironic. I didn't need to be told who _they_ were. I'm not a complete idiot.

The thin trail apparently went pretty far 'round the main building because after what was a good five minute walk we weren't even half there yet. Granted Zero wasn't in much of a rush so we weren't making good time but still. I wonder if he was doing this on purpose.

This almost reminds me of when Dario, Mika, and I would sneak out of the house and go on nature walks. Dario would lead and Mika and I would bring up the rear. I half expected to hear Mika throwing rocks at the trees; trying to get them to rebound and hit Dario or me.

I was interrupted from my musings by slamming head first into Zero's back. "Hey what—"

"Shh," Zero spoke with an almost deadly calmness. "Don't move a muscle."

I could hear the air grow still and silent. Zero had frozen up and looked like he did when I first met him, surprised and pissed. Then I caught a new scent in the air, vampire. The bushes just off to our left began to rustle and a bloodsucker stepped out of it.

They were as awful as they smelled. Oh sure, he was attractive enough but like his pungent odor, it was too much. The smell was unnaturally fragrant and the looks unnaturally perfect. It wasn't right, it was natural.

"Karasu, get behind me." Zero stepped in front of me and put one hand on the holster for his gun. So he did have it with him, nice to know.

The vampire had no interest in Zero. Its red eyes focused on me as it charged forward. Zero took the brunt of its attack and they crashed to the ground with a thump. The vampire immediately got off of Zero but for good measure pressed its foot hard into Zero's stomach as he got up. The bloodsucker ran at me. Just before he connected I took a dive to the side causing it to overshoot.

It slid a bit on the dirt trail. I pulled myself up and ran at him. I felt both my eyes and canines come out. Great, just fucking great. I let out a low growl as I connected.

The beast and I went tumbling and thankfully he didn't get a good bite in. I was pinned down by the bloodsucker had who had put his knee in my abdomen. This left me a perfect opening. I brought my knee up hard into his crotch and used his momentary _lapse in concentration_ to throw him off me. Let it be known that I don't fight fair

He and I rolled off in opposite directions and got ready to run at each other again but we never got the chance. Zero had recovered from getting run over and stepped between us. His back was to me and his gun aimed at the vampire's head.

I'll give Zero this; he can be an idiot some days. Stepping in front of an angry she-wolf like that I mean.

"Senri, what are you doing? Class isn't in session so there isn't any reason you should be out here." The hard rasp was back in Zero's voice.

"I was out for an evening walk. Is that a crime Disciplinary Committee?" It spat.

"Attacking an innocent-"

"That thing is no innocent girl; that is a beast. You as a hunter should recognize that fact."

If looks could kill, Zero would be a murderer. "Get back to your dorm; do not take any detours either. Come along Karasu, the Headmaster will want to hear about this."

Zero gestured with his head for me to move. I side stepped up the trail with my eyes fixated on the bloodsucker that attacked us. When I was a good ways away I felt Zero walk up behind me. He put his hands on my shoulders to keep me in the right direction but did not speak.

With me controlling the pace, we made much better time. It took us only a couple of minutes to reach the end of the tree patch. It wasn't much a short cut but whatever. Just as I was I about to cross into the light to head to the building Zero stopped me.

He spun me around and looked at me; his eyes were a vibrant red. It reminded me of my own eyes. He was still on edge so I did what I did to calm my cousin Dario down. I stepped closer to him and put my hand on the back of his head and started scratching.

Apparently that calms both angry vampires and werewolves alike.

At first, Zero was really confused. He didn't back away but gave me a look like I had lost my fucking mind. He eventually relaxed and I shit you not started to purr.

"Oh my God, you're purring Zero. That's so fucking cute!" I'll admit it, I might've squealed a little.

"I don't know what you just did to me but don't ever do it again."

"Gee, no thank you for calming your ass down huh?"

"Nope!" Zero walked past me.

I turned around and followed him towards the main building.

With nobody inside, the main building was all the more intimidating. It had a vast empty network of halls and classrooms. The head master's office was up several flights of stairs along with several other administrative offices. When we entered the Headmasters office we weren't the only ones who had come to see him.

A man with a long duster coat and eye patch was leaned against the wall. He was a hunter; I could tell. He had that same intensely relaxed way of standing that Zero and Cross had. He did not take his eyes (or eye?) off me as I took to leaning against the now shut door. I wasn't giving anyone my back.

"Nice to see you again Karasu," Headmaster Cross said cheerfully. "I trust the detour went well."

"Actually…" Zero began.

"Oh great, she's been here less than half an hour and she's already causing trouble," said the guy in the corner.

"I did no such thing, I spoke in defense.

"I would have to agree, sort of, on our way here we were ambushed." Zero to the rescue, I guess.

"By who?" Cross asked.

"Senri,"

"Oh my!" Cross gasped.

"You should've known this would happen." The man in the duster spoke.

"Professor Yagari, please," Headmaster Cross held his hand up for silence. "I had a feeling this might happen but I never could've imagined that it would end in violence."

"It wasn't that violent!" I interjected.

"You kneed Senri in the groin. That 'not that violent'" Zero pointed out.

"Let it be known that I don't fight fair."

"Are you alright Karasu?" Cross asked, ignoring me and Zero's banter.

"I'm good, just a bit rattled is all."

"Good, now in regards to the um… safety procedures," Cross leaned forward. "I've decided to not house you with the other students, at least for now. You will share the dormitory with the others but you won't have a roommate. During your um phasing I want you to come to my office immediately after class. Do you know when that is?"

"7 days," I feel like I've been here before.

"Excellent, there is an available room in Room 2-14. Zero do you mind…?" Zero didn't hesitate; he got up on a hair trigger and led me out of the room.

When we got out of the building, Zero stopped again. He turned and looked at me again. I swear this boy has an issue with eye contact. In that sense, I suppose he's like Dario, always brooding and with an uncomfortable habit of staring.

"Zero, are you okay?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." Zero cocked an eyebrow in questioning.

"Like I said earlier, I'm just a bit shaken is all."

"That was with a stranger, now I'll ask again. Are. You. Alright?" Zero clipped his words off in irritation.

"I'm just a bit drained. I've had a rough, pardon the pun, couple months and this seems to be the culmination of it all."

Zero stepped forward and wrapped his arms 'round my shoulders. I didn't hesitate to return the hug. He was still so warm. I reached up with one hand and started to scratch the back of his head again. He took in a sharp breath but did not pull back. Just to see what he would do, I stopped mid scratch.

"I didn't say to stop." He chastised.

"Oh so now you don't mind it?" I chuckled.

"I never said I didn't like it. Now continue." He was smiling; something I'd never thought I'd see.

"Did please escape your vocabulary?"

"Fine, please continue."

I continued to scratch and he let out a deep breath. I swear this looked almost at peace when I did that. When he started making that purring sound in the back of his throat I couldn't contain my laughter. The vampire/vampire hunter with a neck tattoo purring like a cat. I think that creates some kind of adorable singularity.

"You know if this friendship is going to work, you're gonna have to stop laughing at me."

"I'm not laughing at _you_ , just your reaction. It's not as over the top as my cousin's but till."

"Oh and how did he react?"

"He would go completely limp. I'm not talkin' like 'head lulling back limp', oh no. I talkin' like all his muscles would go limp at the same time and he'd drop no matter where he was. It was just the best." I was laughing at the memories of Dario falling over or in some cases off of things.

"Oh that's sounds wonderful, glad I don't have that problem then."

"No just the world's worst concept of time. You're still hugging me and it's been 2 minutes."

"Oh sorry!" He pulled back, a little embarrassed.

"Hey, I'm not complaining."

"They say a hug that's at least 20 consecutive seconds or longer increases your endorphins level."

"Really, well no wonder you're smiling."

"Like you said before, I've had a rough couple of months and this is the culmination of it all." He had a distant look in his eye, though thankfully he was still smiling.

"You're tired as fuck aren't you?"

"You have no idea!"

"Hi, I've probably covered about thirty mile of countryside, on foot. Don't even try me."

"Well, then you'll be thrilled to know that the Sun Dorms are across campus." Zero spoke in mock cheer.

"Ugh, no!"

"What happened to the 'I can walk thirty country miles'?"

"Yes I can walk that far, didn't say I wanted to start now!" I don't know if it's the exhaustion or the remnants of a good mood, but Zero's a talkative guy when he's tired.

"Well come on then, or I'll drag you."

As we walked, I noticed the sun starting to set. The color had faded from my vision at some point but was now returning. This is one of those things I hate about being me. I can't have too much of a good time without being reminded that I'm a she-wolf. It's fucking annoying.

Zero noticed my eyes and took my hand and squeezed it. I swear he's the closest to a non-related friend I'll ever have, even if he was moodier than a one eyed wizard.

The Sun dorm was one of the small off set buildings. It had three stories. One as a sort of communal area as well as holding guest dorm rooms, the second and third floors belonging to the boy's and girl's respectively. You got to each floor by going to a separate stair case with the boys being a two flight stairwell. I thought it might raise suspicion that Zero was escorting me all the way to my room but I guess he could get away with that sort of thing.

Room 2-14 was a small room; it still had its linens which struck me as kind of odd. The door was also unlocked. I went in first, Zero shutting the door behind us.

"There's the key right there." He pointed to a single key ring hung on a rusty hook by the door.

"Thanks Zero." He looked at me and shifted from foot to foot.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's just that, I feel like something isn't right about this."

"What'd mean?" Now I'm confused.

"You attacked a Night Class student. Even if the reasons were fair, it still happened. So why hasn't the Dorm President come to talk to you yet?" Zero sounded really on edge again.

"He has actually," A new voice came from the conjoining bathroom's doorway. He wore a white variation of the uniform and he reeked of vampire. How had I not noticed it before? Geez I must be growing nose blind to the smell. Zero hissed and put himself between me and the Night Class President. When will he learn?

"Zero," Its voice was smooth and even.

"Kaname," Zero looked almost scary, and that was saying something.

"Yeah, hi, um why did you break into my dorm room? I feel like that's violating some kind of rule."

"As Zero pointed out just now, I wanted to talk to you about the _incident_ this afternoon." He spoke like a parent talking to a child, and if there's anything I hate, it's being treated like a child.

"I got Senri's side of the story of course but I wanted to hear yours too." I'll give the fucker this at least he was bi-partisan, sort of.

"And you needed to break into the Day Class dorms to do it!" Zero was livid.

"Yeah, and besides, Headmaster Cross and Professor Yagari have heard the truth, just ask them."

"I wanted to hear it from you in person." Kaname didn't even acknowledge Zero. "So, tell me what happened."

It was way to fucking late for this shit. "Zero and I took a detour, to avoid the Day Class."

"I can relate to that." He chuckled almost to himself.

"Anyway, we were walking when Senri was taking an evening walk. I guess he caught whiff of me because he charged me but Zero stepped in between. After running Zero over," I looked at Zero apologetically. "He and I fought. Nobody was seriously injured, worst that came of it was Senri learned to sing soprano the hard way. Not a bad turn out if you ask me."

"Interesting," Kaname spoke.

"How much of that matches up with what Senri said?" I wondered how much of that did that bloodsucker leave out.

"He failed to mention the 'learning to sing soprano' part but the main story remained intact. The part I wanted to know was who attacked first and that fact remains consistent." He decided.

"Gee, glad to know I'm not accused of lying."

"Though I do ask you refrain from injuring my classmates. Your arrival has caused uproar with the other Night Class members and though I've told them that you are under the same protection as the other Day Class students, I suggest you not tempt them." With that ominous statement, he strode over to the window and casually jumped out of it. What a drama queen.

Once he was gone, Zero stood up and shut the window. He then came back over and stood in front of me. He looked on edge again. I wondered if this had been the particular vampire that Yuki had been infatuated with. Yes, it had to be. He wouldn't have gotten so worked up otherwise.

I didn't voice my knowledge however; I simply reached out and took his hands in mine. I don't know how long we stayed like that but eventually I let go.

"I think we both need some sleep." He didn't say a word but turned to walk out.

Just as he reached the door, he turned back to look at me. "Thanks, for being my friend I mean"

"Thank you to, you have no idea how comforting it's been knowing I'm not alone." I gave him my best warm smile, though I felt ready to drop.

"Oh trust me, I do." With that, Zero walked out.

I went over and took the key off the hook. I then got out of Zero's pants (God does that sound wrong out of context.) and climbed into bed. I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

 **Author's Note:**

 **So about that head scratching thing, yeah, that's actually true. When a mama animal picks up its baby, it does so by the scruff of the neck. There is a pressure point there that release endorphins so the baby goes limp. This applies to people which are why head and neck messages are so relaxing.**

 **This applies to both werewolves and Zero. XD**

 **From**

 **Ash**


	3. Chapter 3

I awoke to a loud rapping sound; somebody was knocking on my door. I threw the blanket off me and went over to the door. I looked through the peep hole and saw Zero standing in the hallway with a bag slung over. I unlocked the door and walked off; grabbing the pants I'd thrown off last night. I walked into the bathroom just as he opened the door.

"Karasu, are you in here?"

"No the door just spontaneously unlocked itself."

"Where are you anyway?" I opened the bathroom, now with pants on.

"Getting dressed, I still can't believe we're the same waste size." I found him in the middle of my room, giving me a strange look.

"Why did you let me in if you weren't dressed?"

"What was I supposed to have you stand outside and wait for me like an idiot? Come on Zero, use your head." I came up to him and knocked on his forehead. He reached up and grabbed my hand. He brought it back down before he let it go.

"Well, you're cheery this morning."

"I didn't sleep so great." He spoke with a slightly lilted voice.

"Any particular reason?" I pulled his hand up and started to play with it, splaying his fingers apart and then scrunching them up.

"Not that I can tell, I just can't fall asleep. Truth be told, that night you first came here was the best sleep I've gotten in months." He looked away and shrugged.

"So what brings you here?" I asked, trying and failing to lighten the mood.

"Oh, the Headmaster asked me to bring this to you, since I was already up and all." Zero tossed the bag to me. I caught it mid toss and opened it.

The first thing that caught my attention was the scent. It smelled of vampire and it wasn't Zero. Then it registered what it was, it was several sets of the Day Class uniform.

"Put it on, not only will you be in dress code but we'll know if it fits." He still wasn't looking at me.

"Do you have any cologne?" I asked.

"Just mine, why?" He took out a small bottle. I grabbed it from his hand.

I went into the bathroom and changed. The uniform itself didn't bother me; I of all people understood the need for a representation of unity. The problem I had with it was the scent. It caked it and I swear nothing was getting that stench out.

When I put the boots on, I made the mental note to run a couple miles when I had the spare time. The uniform fit, somehow, but the boots needed to be broken in. I walked out of the bathroom and took out Zero's cologne and put a spritz on all the pulse points. Then deciding that wasn't enough, I made a wild hand gesture while holding down the nozzle. I stank, but of cologne, not bloodsucker.

"I like your cologne, it reeks in large amounts." I handed him the bottle back.

"Thanks, I now regret bringing it. No offense, you stink."

"Zero, you really oughta not compare stinks."

"Fair enough, least I smell like me, not a boy's locker room."

"You sayin' I smell good otherwise?"

"I'm saying you say you don't normally smell like a locker room I don't know how much of a compliment that is but whatever." He replied dryly.

"You really need to learn how to quit while you're ahead." I walked past him and grabbed the key from the knob.

"Hey, I was only joking. I didn't mean to upset you." He had spun 'round and genuinely sounded upset.

"So was I." I can't resist being difficult.

Realizing he had played right into my hand. He gave me a sour look. He was no fun in the morning.

'Oh come on, lighten up Zero!" I playfully shoved his shoulder. He just kept giving me the stink eye.

"Come on now Zero. Don't be like that." No response. "Okay fine! I won't pull that joke again."

"Neither will I." He gave me a crooked smile.

"Damn you Zero! That wasn't funny!"

"I found it quite amusing." He was laughing now.

"Yes and repetition goes with comedy like Marmalade goes with human existence!" I was also laughing now. "No, but seriously fuck Marmalade, that stuff's just gross."

"I can agree with you on that fact, even if it has nothing to do with anything."

"It has everything to do with everything! Thank you very much!"

After several seconds of quieting ourselves, I looked back at Zero. "So was that all you came over to do, give me clothes and duck out?"

"No, I also came to show you around."

"I'd love to but shouldn't we do this thing called _school_?"

"No, term doesn't start for another week." I slammed my palm into my forehead.

"Fuck!"

"What is it?" Zero jumped in surprise.

"Guess what's in 7 days?"

Comprehension dawned on Zero's face. "Oh… well that might be a problem."

"Might be!"

"Hey, calm down. We'll take this one day at a time. For now, let's just focus on getting through the week." Zero reached behind me and opened the door. "Come on, let's take a walk. The fresh air will do us both some good."

When we got outside, the sun was already climbing high into the sky. Some kids were already walking about but most were still inside avoiding the heat. The few kids that were out gave Zero and me a wide birth. He apparently has the reputation of being a hard ass.

The main building itself was of little interest to me, it wouldn't help me to know it well until I got my classes. Thankfully Zero didn't bother with it. He showed me the library and the cafeteria. The grounds themselves were well maintained. If nothing else, I could see myself going for a walk in the afternoon like I used to do. I wonder if Zero would mind joining me.

I would have kept on like that but somebody interrupted me.

"Hello there, I wasn't aware there was a new student. I am Day Class Representative,

Kaseumi Kageyama. It's nice to meet you." A brown haired boy addressed me kindly, if with an air of formality.

"Hi, my name is Karasu Parquet. It's nice to meet you." I reached out to shake his hand; he took it and shook it firmly

Kaseumi turned to Zero. "Kiryuu, it's nice to see you again." There wasn't a shred of friendliness in his voice.

"Hmm," Zero wasn't much nicer.

"Well, I feel sorta bad about not finding you earlier but I see that Kiryuu has got your orientation underway. Well if you need anything, I'll be around." He gave me a friendly smile then curtly at Zero before walking off.

"He seems nice!"

Zero gave a little growl before continuing forward. I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him. He doesn't shake me off, though to his credit it wasn't for lack of trying.

"Zero, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Liar.

"In the words of my mama, FINE: freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional. Not I'm gonna ask you this again, what's wrong."

Zero sighed and turned to face me. "It's not a good day to be me." With each word he stepped closer so by the end of it we were eyeball to eyeball.

"I'm gonna assume we mean the same thing when I ask is that why you haven't been sleeping?"

"Yes, that's partially it. That and the uniform isn't helping." He put his hand on my blazer's sleeve to emphasize the point.

"What's wrong with it?"

"The owner of the original uniform was my _friend_ and her scent is all over you. She smelled _good,_ you smell _good._ " He pronounced the word 'good' the same way one would say a curse.

"Oh, I understand now." Zero looked at me and his eyes were burning red. He needed to calm down, the day was already chipping at him and I doubt I was helping, time to fix that.

"Where's a place you like to go, somewhere that puts you at ease?" Zero gave me a confused look.

"There's a barn on the other side of campus, I would always go to be alone. What's this got to do with me?"

"Come on, follow me." With that I started legging it in the opposite direction.

I didn't need to focus on the direction as much, more just the smell. I focused on the very faint smell of hay and manure and followed it. Zero had to step up his pace to a light jog to keep pace. Truth be told I haven't the foggiest idea what I plan to do but by God I'm doing something.

When we reached the barn, I turned around to face Zero. I had decided on how to help. Since I can't give him my blood, that'd kill me, so I'm gonna at least let him sleep.

Step One: Environment Change.

I gave Zero a questioning look. "This the place?"

"Yes but…" I didn't let him finish. I opened the door to the barn and saw several box stalls. I looked around and spied and area of seemingly softer straw. I led Zero over to it and forced him to sit down.

"What are you doing?"

"Wait here," I ordered. He gave me an incredulous look but did not move.

Step Two: Warmth.

I went over and grabbed what I assumed was an old horse blanket. Point is it would keep Zero warm. Granted, the barn itself was plenty warm but it couldn't hurt. I came back over and sat beside Zero and wrapped the blanket 'round his shoulders.

"What's this for?" He looked mildly annoyed.

"I'm trying to help you relax. You got what two hours of sleep last night. That's not enough, even for you."

"But,"

Step Three: Relaxation.

"Shh," I put my hand up to the back of his and began to scratch. This was the greatest exploit ever, I swear. Zero instantly calmed down and I guided his body so that he was lying in my lap. No, it wasn't awkward, not at all actually.

"Just relax, Zero. You need this." He gave me a sideways look and I began to rub circles into his back again. He bit his lip trying to stay awake. He opened his mouth to stay something but I didn't let him.

"Shh, just sleep." I put my finger to his mouth but he grabbed it and pulled it away.

"Please, don't let me sleep too long. Believe it or not, I have my duties as a Prefect." He let go of my hand and I continued to scratch his head. He eventually fell asleep.

I looked around and spied a white mare. She was giving me an odd look. For obvious reasons, hooved animals and I didn't much get along. Horses were included in that. The mare nickered at me and bobbed her head.

 _Glad to know I have your approval horse._

After what I knew was two hours, thank God for my excellent perception of time, I decided I needed to wake Zero. I reached down started petting his head.

"Zero, Zero wake up," He reluctantly opened his eyes. He looked tired but slightly less so than before.

"Feel better?" I asked.

"Mm, yeah." He wasn't looking at me. I reached out and moved his face to face mine. His eyes weren't red anymore which I took as a good sign. I patted his cheek and stood up. He stood up as well and s we were leaving a sent a look to the white mare. She bobbed her head at me in approval.

"So what does your Prefect duties entail?"

"Right now, I have to make sure that none of the students try sneaking into the Moon Dorms." He sighed. "Since most the kids won't be getting in 'till the weekend, it isn't that hard. Still…"

"Okay, I'll patrol with you."

"What no, you need to rest. With school and— you're gonna need all the rest you can get."

"Zero, as much as I appreciate your protectiveness, I can walk much longer than you and not be tired. A few hours of walking will actually do me some good."

"But..."

"Zero, it's not a request. I'm helping."

Zero sighed in exasperation but conceded my point.

"By the way, I forgot to ask you this last night. Who's the dude with the eye patch?"

"A hunter,"

"Well no shit Sherlock, I gathered that much!"

"He was my teacher and mentor, he's also the Ethics teacher." Zero gave me a slight smirk. What a smart ass.

"And does this guy have a name?"

"Yagari, Toga Yagari." Zero said while doing a damn good Bond impression.

"And does he like his Martini's shaken, not stirred?"

"Ha! It's surprising how well that fits."

We swung by the Sun Dorms so he and I could get some food before patrol. I swear if I didn't have people to remind me to eat, I'd starve myself on accident.

As the sun started to set, we set off. First we walked the perimeter of the Sun Dorms, seeing if anybody was hiding 'mogst the bushes. Then we headed for the Moon Dorms, on the way I sniffed the air for curfew breakers. There were a couple of girls out but they were heading in the direction of the Sun Dorms.

I could smell the Moon Dorms from here. The place had a pungent scent to it. Every part of me was saying to just fuck it and torch the place but I kept my cool. When we got to the wall surrounding the gate I could feel Zero tense up.

"Stay close," No shit you think I'm gonna walk 'round here alone. As we set off scooping the area 'round the border, I could sense somebody on the other side. It wasn't a scent that I recognized and they didn't announce themselves. They followed us all the way around the perimeter, occasionally making subtle hissing noises. When we reached the gate, Zero didn't even attempt another walk around. We just left.

The rest of the night was quiet enough. A couple kids were caught out but the second they saw us the bolted for the Dorms. We followed behind them to make sure they didn't take any detours and they didn't. All in all, it was an uneventful night.

Zero and I got back to the Sun Dorms at around midnight. I let Zero use my bathroom since his was closed at dusk. The boy took a shower and when he came out his hair was still soaking wet.

`"Did you even try and dry your hair?" I reached up and started to towel dry his head.

"Not really, no."

"Well you oughta or you'll catch a cold."

"Hmm,"

Zero went over to my window and locked it. I guess he didn't want to risk it. He came back over and gave me a quick and admittedly awkward one armed hug before leaving. I locked the door behind him and took my shower to. It felt nice to be clean again. I got into the shirt Zero leant me and went to bed. I went out like a light.

That's what Zero and I did for that first week. Zero would wake me up and we'd go to the barn or on occasion to the library. Then we'd grab some food and go on patrol. While Zero's thirst didn't get much better, he at least tried to stay positive, for my sake because I was fuckin' losing it. That next day I woke up with a splitting headache and every day after that it got worse and worse 'till the third day when I could barely open my eyes.

It was Sunday night when I collapsed.

Zero and I were just heading back to the Sun Dorms when out of nowhere all the energy left me. Clack and yellow spots danced in my vision and a loud ringing started. As Zero turned around to ask me a question all I could hear was the ringing. It climbed higher and higher in both pitch and volume and by the time Zero realized something was wrong the sound had crescendo into a deafening screech and I had blacked out.

I wasn't out for more than ten seconds but that was plenty of time to give zero a heart attack. He had thankfully caught me and as had sat me down on the ground. When I came to I saw that he had gone pale (paler than usual that is) and he looked honestly quite scared.

"Karasu, Karasu are you alright?" He sounded panicked.

"I'm fine, Zero."

"FINE: Freaked out-"

"Alright, Alright I feel like shit happy?"

"No!" He said flatly. "Now, come on, we need to get you inside. Can you stand?"

I tried to stand on my own. That worked out about as well as you'd think. I fell over but this time Zero was ready.

"Apparently not,"

Zero put one arm under my ribcage and I looped mine 'round his shoulders and we walked. It was slow going and when we got to the stairs Zero had to carry me. When we reached my room, T took my key out of my pocket to unlock it but I couldn't get the key in the lock, it just kept slipping out.

"Here, I got it." Zero took the key and unlocked the door, first try.

He led me inside and set me down on my bed. He handed me the shirt I'd been using as a night shirt.

"So do you need me to um…?"

"No, Zero I think I got it from here. Thank you though." Awkward!

"Alright, get some rest. You're gonna need it" With that, Zero left without another word.


	4. Chapter 4

_It was almost sundown and Dario and I were sitting on the top most tree branch. The two of us had snuck out, again, and instead of doing something sensible with our brief moment of freedom, we were just sitting in a tree. We weren't that creative, at least I wasn't._

 _"Dario, how long do you think it'll be 'till mama lets us go outside for real, like with her permission I mean?"_

 _"I don't know about_ _ **your**_ _mother, but mine said I was allowed to leave when I turned 18." He gave me a crooked smile. "The only reason she doesn't let me leave now is because your mother is so paranoid."_

 _"She is not paranoid!" I defended. "She was told to keep me safe!"_

 _"Yes, and who told her that; was it the husband that left her?"_

 _"…yeah"_

 _"And for the record, locking her little girl isn't 'keeping her safe' it's kenneling her. You're ma little crow, my Crow, you shouldn't have to be caged up Karasu, none of us should." He put his arm 'round me and pulled me close to him. Dario was a sweetheart, even if he was a little …off._

 _"Okay," I nuzzled his shoulder. "Though I wish you wouldn't call Mama paranoid, not around me at least. She may be wrong, but she's still my mother."_

 _"Fair enough." He smiled, showing me his full teeth._

 _"Come on, if nothing else, I want food." With that, I threw us both forward. Dario had just enough time to ready himself before we touch down._

 _"Not fair, I wasn't ready!"_

 _"If you were ready, it wouldn't have been half as funny." I gave him a toothy grin._

 _"Still, I really don't wanna go back. I kind of want to spend this moon outside, if you catch what I mean."_

 _My smile dropped. "Dario, no, you can't."_

 _"Oh, come on now. I've been good. Nobody's caught me."_

 _"Still, I can't cover for you again. They're gonna find out it's you, sooner or later." I stepped closer to him. "I don't want them to hurt you."_

 _"They won't…"_

 _"Please, stay with me tonight and tomorrow," I really didn't wanna do this. "I'll come with you."_

 _Dario's yellow eye grew wide and glowed just a little bit brighter. "Really, you mean that?"_

 _"Yeah," I muttered shyly. "But only if you promise to stay."_

 _"I promise!" He picked me up and spun me around. He always got like this whenever I gave him what he wanted._

 _The sun was almost gone and the moon was just starting to rise when we started off towards the house. Dario was walking with a noticeable spring in his step. We were about a mile from the house when we smelled smoke._

 _'No, no!" Dario kicked into high gear as we ran. I felt the first inklings of the phasing begin. It started as a soft tingle but was gradually growing hotter. When we got within earshot of the house, I could hear the flames burning and shouting coming from all around. Some of approval and others I didn't want to think about._

 _Dario stopped. "Karasu, listen to me. Go to the lake, it's about 2 miles due east. Don't stop, no matter how much it hurts. I'm gonna go in and try and salvage whatever I can."_

 _"No, you can't. You'll burn!"_

 _"So will our family! I've got to try and save them. It's my fault that this is happening."_

 _"But,"_

 _"Go! If I haven't caught up with you by morning, assume we're all dead and find help. Understand me; don't come back to this house. Got it?" He looked like he was about to cry; I don't think that's ever happened._

 _I nodded swiftly. "I love you." I hugged him tight before darting eastward._

 _When the sun had risen, Dario hadn't caught up with me. I cried as I ran._

I woke up early. I was still dark out. The clock on the dresser read, 4:12. I lopped back onto my bed. I knew myself enough to know I wasn't going back to sleep. So I rolled out of bed and started to get ready. I was starting to run low on clothes, I would have to do laundry again.

After an ice shower and a new change of clothes, I stood in the center of my room. I had nothing to do. I sniffed the air. The varying scents of the sleeping students filled my nose but one in particular caught my attention. It smelled pungent but familiar.

"Zero,"

I took the key off the hook and unlocked the door. I poked my head out into the hallway. As expected, nobody was up yet. I pulled back in and grabbed the bag Zero had left me that first day. It had nothing in it but it felt right having it. I then set off on the scent, searching for my friend.

I followed the scent down the stairs to the bottom floor. Then I thought of something. It would be weird if somebody saw me on the boy's floor and I was certain Zero wouldn't want to deal with that kind of trouble at 4 am. Then I got an idea.

I went back to room and stuck my head out the window. Sure enough the scent was faint but I could smell Zero's room. But the problem was Zero's window was at an angle to mine. Then I saw it, my saving grace. There was a slight lip that was just wide enough for me to crawl on. As far as I could tell, it wrapped all the way around the building and led to an iron ladder that went up onto the third floor.

I looked around, nobody was out. I didn't need to have acute eyesight to figure that out. What sane person was up at 4 am? Me, apparently. I crawled out onto the lip and gingerly crawled towards to the fire escape. Years of tree climbing with my cousins was finally paying off. I got to the fire escape and prayed to God that it was sturdy enough to hold my weight.

It was.

When I got to the third floor, I was relieved to find that the third floor had a ledge that led right to Zero's window. I kept going, only stopping to listen and see if anybody had woken up to investigate. Thankfully, nobody came out. I'd make a great burglar.

When I got to Zero's window, I gently tapped the glass. I heard a quiet thump and Zero curse audibly. I scooted to the side as Zero opened his window.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, good morning to you too/"

"Answer me!" He whisper shouted.

"Well, isn't it obvious? I came to see you silly!"

"At 4 am!"

"Yes, now are you gonna let me in or not?"

"Fine, get in." He moved to the side as I climbed into his window.

I looked around. His room was sparse and overly neat. It wasn't what I was expecting but I could deal. I turned to were Zero was standing and saw that he wasn't wearing pants.

"Nice boxers Zero."

He looked down and gave the most adorable whimper. "Sorry, I was just starting to fall asleep when you knocked." He was scratching the top of his head.

"Well I suppose that makes…wait just starting to fall asleep. Don't tell me you've been up all night."

"I couldn't fall asleep." He didn't look me in the eye.

"God damn it Zero."

"Hey it's not my fault this time."

"Well if nothing else, you outta get dressed. It's 4:40."

0He gave me a strange look. "Alright, just turn around."

"What?"

"I have to change clothes turn around." He made a slight turning motion with his hand.

"I didn't take you for the shy type Zero. What you got somethin' to hide?" I gave him a playful shove. He just glared.

"I am not shy, now for God's sake turn around." He finally looked at me and in the low light I could see is face was red.

"Fine, whatever you say," I made a show of turning around and covering my eyes. I'll never understand the human aversion to nudity. It is the most natural state of being. Why are we so afraid of it? I suppose it's because of the sexual connotation but still. I guess since I grew up in a family were for a couple days each month we'd strip down and turn into wolves that I would be used to it but I think my point still stands.

I listened to the sound of rustling fabric and out of boredom tuned into the sound of Zero's heart. I was light and quick, like a caged bird. When Zero finished he came up and tapped me on the shoulder.

"You can turn around now." His voice was quieter than before, almost inaudible.

I turned around and saw that he was dressed, save for his tie which wasn't tied right.

"Here, you can never tie your tie correctly can you?" I reached up and began fix his tie. He didn't fight me.

"There much better," I patted his chest as I walked past him and sat on his bed.

"Now what? We've got about an hour and a half before we need to head down for breakfast." He asked

"I don't know? What do you wanna do?"

"We could talk."

"Aren't we already doing that?"

"You know what I mean." Zero came forward and sat on the bed beside me. "I've been wondering what your life was like before this, you speak so highly of your family and I want some insight as to why."

"You won't like what you here."

"How so?" He asked.

I sighed in defeat. "Alright, let's start with my mother. She's was my rock, even if she was a little eccentric. She was always there." I smiled at the memory of her.

"Eccentric, what do you mean?"

"Well she did refuse to let me leave the house, ever. Granted I snuck out all the time but still shed had a reason."

"What was it?"

"You ask a lot of questions Zero." I noted his annoyed look as he pressed me for more. "As it was, when my father left, the last thing he told her was to keep me safe. She really took that statement to heart."

"No shit," I think that's the first time I heard Zero curse. How 'bout that. "But you mentioned you had other family members."

"Yeah, I had an aunt and uncle and two cousins."

"What of them."

"My Aunt Takashi and Uncle Julius were saints. They took my mother and me in when my dad left. They adopted my mother's rule about letting their children leave the house. That didn't go over very well."

Zero made a movement with his hand; he was surprisingly interested in my family life. I suppose it was professional curiosity. How many times do you get a firsthand account of a werewolf's life?

I continued. "Well Mika was the youngest, he was thirteen when he… anyway he had boundless energy and couldn't sit still to save his life. Little pup about lost it when Dario and I offered to sneak him out one afternoon, nearly got us all caught." I smiled at the memory, then remembering what I would have to do next, the smile left me. "Dario was a different beast… pun intended."

"Zero was smart enough to see where this was going. "If you don't want to finish, we can talk about something else."

"No! It needs to be said. If we're gonna be friends, you should know what a monster I created." I was trying to keep the bitterness and hatred out of my voice. I should only remember Dario as my kind if off kilter cousin, not as a monster. "You must understand this Zero, not all werewolves are good. Most, like me, have some level of self-control when it comes to phasing. Dario did not. His father, Julius, was the son of a wolf that was bitten into this, not born like my mother and her sister. When Dario and his father phased with us, they had the self-control to not kill everything in sight. But, when Dario snuck out, he didn't maintain that control."

"Sort of like a Level E," Zero spoke more to himself than to me.

"Exactly like a Level E. We called them Bite-Ins; they are a disgrace to the name of werewolf and are normally killed without hesitation." I really suck at this whole unbiased thing, don't I. "At any rate, Dario snuck out regularly and would often come back covered in blood. I would cover for him as best I could but there was no denying it. When he started intentionally placing himself near people, I stopped trying to help. The reason my family is dead, why I have no life to live anymore is because somebody saw Dario phase and put the pieces together, we lived in one of those small towns where word of mouth was everything and they organized an angry mob to burn out house down!"

Zero and I sat in silence for a few minutes. The air had grown hot and tingly or that could've just been me.

"You're not your species you know."

"What?"

"If there's one thing I've learned since I came to this school, it's that you don't have to be the worst things about yourself." Zero spoke with genuine care. I knew his guilt and his pain over what he'd done and hadn't done. He may've been only trying to help but…

"You should take your own advice Zero, tell me, are there nights where you think for even a second that if you'd done something different. Even if it meant the person you loved would hate you forever. Then maybe things might have turned out differently."

"…yes."

"Then don't talk to me about embodying your worst characteristics I was complacent and it got my family killed. Dario got my family killed."

We didn't talk after that. We just sat in silence 'till the hustle and bustle of the day finally got underway. We went down for breakfast in silence, we ate together in silence. We got our time tables in silence. You see where I'm going with this.

We shared many of the same classes, save for the first and last hours. I had an art class first hour and Zero had a P.E. credit. I had my P.E. credit last hour and Zero didn't even have a last hour. Other than that our classes were identical, which I had a sneaking suspicion that was done on purpose. Damn you Headmaster Cross, damn you to Hell!

` The classes themselves were fairly straight forward. I had wondered how sparse my education was but apparently my tutor had done a good job. Thank you Mr. Lou, I owe you one. The real problem was the staring. For one, the kids kept giving me strange looks, like they hadn't all seen me in the _week_ that I'd already been here. I guess it was reasonable enough to assume they didn't get new students very often but it didn't give them the right to be assholes.

The Art class was simple, a drawing class. I wasn't a terrible artist but I wasn't great either. I could manage a decent sketch and it be discernable enough. Granted the first day we didn't do much of anything except talk about art. And talk and talk they did. It was a class of mostly freshman so naturally there wasn't a silent moment in the entire hour. When the bell rung, I flew outta there so fast I nearly missed Zero standing at the entrance waiting for me.

"That bad, eh?" He asked when he'd caught up with me.

"Let it be known that I can't stand freshman."

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that that's your only mixed grade class until last hour. The rest you'll have with me."

"Yay." I said with utmost contempt. I know he's only trying to help but I can't be excited about school, not today at least.

The rest of the day was much less painful. The kids still stared at me but at least now whenever one looked a little too long; I had Zero to give them a death glare. I swear if looks could kill, Zero would be Jack the fucking Ripper.

Toga Yagari, or as I now had to call him, Professor Yagari, was our second to last hour. Zero had already taken the class but decided to do it again. He must've really liked this guy to take his class a second time. I couldn't stand the guy. He kept giving me resentful looks from where he lectured. Whenever he mentioned morality or ethical dilemmas he'd look right at me. The fucker was egging me on and I swear if I get another look from him I'll fucking loose it.

Thank God for bells.

"Go on ahead, I'll find you later. You know where you're heading right?" Zero said in a voice bordering on a snarl. Apparently he noticed Professor Yagari's subtle-not subtle comments.

"Yeah, catch up with you later I guess." On the one hand, I didn't like the idea of Zero fighting my battles for me but on the other hand I knew me snapping at him was exactly what Yagari wanted. So I left.

The headache came back right as I walked into P.E. It came back with a vengeance. The day had grown old and that was the cue for my body to start fucking me over. The teacher, a burly woman with greying hair and the sourest of looks, was giving kids instructions on where they were to dress out and all that. Most of them weren't paying her a lick of attention. She ended up having to tell the girls twice to dress out before the thought pierced their skulls that they outta dress out. When they'd all gone inside to get dressed, I'd stayed behind.

"May I help you?" She asked in that faux kind voice that only a gym teacher could manage.

"May I borrow a uniform; I'm new here and never received one."

"Ah yes! Headmaster Cross spoke to me earlier, asked if I might lend you one." She went to the back of the gym and pulled out an old pair of gym pants and a gym shirt.

She handed me the shirt, "Thank you ma'am."

"You're welcome." She gave me a funny look. "Hey, are you alright dear? You look a little pale."

Fuck. "It's nothing; just a bit under the weather is all." I went for the locker room before she could question me further.

Zero was waiting for me when class was over. He looked right pissed off. "Do I wanna know?"

"No, you don't." Well, I guess his free hour went well. "Come on, we need to see the Headmaster, now."

We walked in huff. Zero was still fuming though he was at least trying to stay composed, failing miserably but at least he was trying.

"How was your class?"

"I'm not the biggest fan of P.E. I'll tell you that much."

"Who is really, I had the class, it wasn't fun, and I actually like sports."

"Really, you, the pale scrawny fucker like sports. I've seen it all!"

"I am not scrawny!" Zero protested, his voice hiking up in pitch.

"Zero, we have the same waste size. You're a fuckin' stick."

"Don't remind me."

"I'm never gonna let you live that down."

"Joy, and to think I actually missed you talking."

"Aww, you missed me talking to you. I'm touched." I said, wiping a mock tear from my eye.

"Yeah yeah, don't let it go to your head."

"Leave to you to cheer me up." I said patting his back.

We kept walking though I swear I saw Zero smiling, if only for a little while. When we got to Cross's office, there were three other people in there: the Headmaster himself, Professor Yagari, and Kaname.

"Karasu, Zero, please come in." Cross spoke from his chair.

Zero and I stepped inside but neither of us sat. Instead we just leaned against the shut door.

"Or don't, that's fine too."

"Hello Karasu, I trust you're doing well." Kaname spoke in his cryptic manner.

"Do I look well to you, vampire? If so then you're blind."

"Karasu, please at least try and be civil, I understand your frustrations but meeting us halfway would help me out dearly." Headmaster Cross gave me his 'just humor him' look.

"Alright, I'll try."

"Excellent, now…" Cross dropped the pretense of light heartedness and the room seemed to heat up with intensity. That could've just been me though.

"I've decided that having you phase inside is the best course of action. I cannot risk a student finding you in your condition. So, there is a science classroom that has been defunked. Teachers do not typically go in there so it should be a safe place to let you phase."

"Hold up, I'm going to phase inside the building?"

"Yes,"

"While the night class is in the building, no offense sir but that sounds like a terrible idea."

"That's why I am here." Kaname spoke up. "I assure you that the Night Class has been warned to not bother you and if they do they will face the utmost of consequences."

"No shit, they'd die."

"I'm here." Professor Yagari put in. "…to assess the threat level. If the threat to the student body gets too high then I'll-"

"It won't come to that!" Zero cut in. It was the first time I'd heard him speak. I guess I had my answer as to what they talked about earlier.

"I'll be monitoring your condition throughout the night. If you try to escape-"

"She won't!" Zero looked about ready to bust a vessel. I was touched by his kindness even if it was too optimistic.

"Now calm down, there's no need to shout." Cross spoke in sweet but strained patience.

"Alright, let's do this." I set my bag down. "The sooner we start this, the quicker we can get this over with."

"Right, Kanname and Zero, both of you head to the Moon Dorms for the switchover. We wouldn't want the Day Class to tear the Night Class apart, now would we?"

Kanname got up to leave but Zero stayed up against the door. He looked at me, like he was asking if it was okay. I smiled my best reassuring smile and cocked my head to the side. He gave Professor Yagari a warning look before walking out the door.

They left the room. I wonder which of them, if either, of them will make it back to the dorms. A searing heat and blinding pang of agony sent me on a one way trip to the floor. I've phased alone before, but it's never been this bad. It had to be the presence of the vampires, they were causing this.

"Karasu are you alright?" Cross shot from his chair and knelt beside me. Yagari only stood there. Bastard.

"I need to get downstairs, now!"

Cross helped me up and I followed him downstairs. He kept at a slow pace with Yagari bringing up the rear. The stairs were fun, the constant burning with each step as the sun dipped lower into the sky. When we reached an old door that looked like nobody had passed through it in years, Cross stopped.

"Here you go, I do hope tonight won't be too unpleasant for you." He unlocked the door and walked past me dragging Yagari with him.

I sighed. This is it, my first phase in a basement. It almost feels like home. But it wasn't home. Home was gone.

I slipped inside the door and looked around. There was a crate of old science equipment. I pushed it in front of the door. That'd do for a barricade at least for now. I sat in the center of the room and waited for the phasing to begin. The first thing to start was my legs.

My feet started stretching as the bones in my feet were broken and new bone grew in its place. The tendons were also being pulled and stretched to their natural end and continued. The muscles in my calves and thighs thickened and rippled. I was relatively muscled anyway but this was overkill. The heat of it all was unboreable so in order to save my clothes; I started stripping and put the discarded clothes in a pile in the corner. Like I said, I don't have a problem with nudity.

My tail started coming in almost immediately. It pulled at the skin and came down to the back of my knees. The fur hadn't started coming in yet so from the waist down I looked like a rat. Muscle grew and flexed up my torso and chest leaving nothing but a mass of sinew. My spine arched in accordance to the new muscle growth and my neck popped as it pulled itself downward.

My skull caved in and pushed outwards. My profile pulled forward to a much more dolichocephalic shape. My ears grew to a tip and pushed outwards to accommodate the new muzzle. The skin around my nose thickened and when I looked down my muzzle I could see it had darkened.

I had been doing my best to not scream. It would do me no good to draw any more attention to myself. I could only whimper as I morphed and changed. I remember the first time I phased. I had been about five years old. I had passed out and regained consciousness the next morning. I couldn't do that now.

The fur and claws were the last to come in. They sent a burning sensation up my skin and the follicles adjusted to have four times the hair. My paws ached with the sensation of new nails, no new claws. My vision took on a yellow tint, marking the end of the change.

With my new found sense of wonder, I sniffed the air. I could smell the vampires, the beast wanted to tear them apart, but I abstained. I smelled Yagari, the beast wanted to rip him apart for his insinuations about me being a monster, but I abstained. I smelled the other students, soundly asleep in their dorms, the beast wanted to hunt, but I abstained. I wasn't Dario.

Dario, that name sent rivulets of anger up my spine and I felt my hackles rise. It was his fault, he was why I was stuck here; why I was stuck in this basement and going to school with a bunch of bloodsuckers. If he'd learned to control the beast inside him, he'd still be here.

I howled in anguish and slammed my body against the nearest solid object, in my case it was a wall. I heard it shudder and sizzle on impact. I thought of the times he and I would play in the woods and how the trees would sizzle when we slammed into them. I turned to a shelf of unused beakers and ran at it. The shelf held steadfast but glass came down in sheets and showered me in cuts.

I caught my reflection in a particularly large shard of glass. I saw a dark shape with glowing yellow eyes and I swear for a moment I saw my cousin staring back at me. I started snarling at the broken shard. Yes, I'm very much aware I'm growling at my own reflection, don't judge me!

After wearing my vocal cords down to bits, I took to having a lie down. The nice thing about being phased, it's surprisingly easy to fall asleep and miss the phase back. When I woke up, I was almost fully unphased. How 'bout that.

I found an unused fire blanket (why they never took this outta here, I'll never know) and just got it 'round myself when somebody knocked.

"Karasu, you in there?" It was Zero.

"Yeah, I'm here." I looked around and picked up a stool that had gotten knocked down in the commotion. I used it to push the barricade out from in front of the door without having to get up. You call it laziness, I call it efficiency. Zero came in with his hand covering his face.

"I smell blood."

"I knocked a shelfful of glass beakers over."

He still wouldn't look at me, "I brought you your bag, along with a set of spare clothes."

He tossed me my bag and I fished out my extra uniform. I knew Zero enough to know him giving me my clothes was his way of telling me to get dressed. I put my clothes on as quickly as I could.

"At some point Zero, you'll have to get over this aversion to nudity. It's not practical."

"Yeah, I feel like somewhere up there, karma is laughing at me." He said, though he still wouldn't look at me.

"Zero," I walked up to him and forced him to look at me. "You're safe now idiot."

"The vampires had a bit of a row when the night went down; a couple of them almost came down to investigate."

"What stopped them?"

"Well other than me, they were frightened off by the snarling coming from downstairs."

"Note to self, make terrifying noises to ward off vampires. Got it!"

Zero looked at me funny. He reached his hand up and touched my hairline, when he pulled his hand back down his fingers were covered in blood. I watched as he put his hands to his lips when he noticed me watching, he shook the blood off.

"Come, let's get you cleaned up."


	5. Chapter 5

0 Zero sat in the back of the lecture hall. Professor Yagari was just as boring as always though at least he's stop antagonizing me. The full moon's cycle has just wrapped up a couple days ago, thank God. I'll spare you the details as they were irrelevant and mundane. Ironic how the one thing that separates' me from my peers has become so mundane that's I barely acknowledge it.

The one fact that I will dwell on is that Zero still isn't sleeping. I've made a habit of getting up and climbing into his window to wake him (though at a more reasonable hour) and every time I do he says he hasn't slept. As of this morning he's taken to wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes, which have taken on a deep scarlet hue and circles so dark the look like smears of black paint.

He's been snappier too. IN all fairness he's always been kinda moody but he's taking it to a whole new level. I can tell he's absolutely miserable.

On a slightly less depressing note, school isn't nearly as shit; okay art class makes me wanna bash my brains in and this class is a load of shit but whatever. The really interesting bit is that I've managed to make some friends.

Of course there was Kaseumi Kageyama. He normally is just referred to as Class Rep. Which makes sense because his full name is a bit of a tongue twister. He is a shrewd rule abiding goody two shoes but he's at least civil. He and Zero don't talk much though which is unfortunate because they both can be real hard asses.

Sayori is also a sweet heart. She doesn't talk much and I've been begging her to teach her fellow students but apparently there's simply no hope. On the other hand, she's way too smart for her own good. She noticed how sick I was during the full moon (and yes I went to school after that and no it wasn't fun) and asked me about it. I had to come up with the excuse of influenza but I've got a feeling that she didn't believe me.

I heard a soft thud from beside me and looked over. Zero had fallen asleep. Okay that's it, he needs help. How? He's not sleeping because of his thirst being so great. I can't give him my blood. He won't take the tablets nor will he take from another person. So …

Then it hit me. I couldn't let him drink directly from me because the bite itself would do me in (my body would rather kill itself than give a vampire substance) but if I could draw my blood and have him drink it that way, could he take it? I'd have to confirm this before I tried it. I could ask Headmaster Cross, but that didn't sound like a good idea. He wouldn't want any blood being pilled, even if his own son (sort of) was in pain. There was only one option. I needed to talk to Yagari.

When the class ended, I woke Zero up. He didn't look too thrilled.

"Why did you wake me?"

"The class is over Zero. And I don't think the professor would appreciate you snoring in his class for any longer than you already have."

"Well okay… hey wait I don't snore!"

"Yes you do Zero, and it's the cutest thing" He smiled despite himself.

"Listen Zero, you look kinda dead. Why don't you head to the barn and take a nap. Don't worry; I'll come back for you when I'm outta class. Got it.?" He nodded and without another word, he left.

I however, decided to stay behind. Yagari was putting away his lecture notes. I gave a loud cough and he looked up hurriedly. His eye narrowed.

"Why are you still here?"

"I had a question that I think only you could answer."

"What is it? I'm very busy." Professor Yagari was hastily shoving papers into his case.

"What would happen if a vampire were to drink werewolf blood?"

Professor Yagari shut his case with a loud snap. He looked at me with bright eyes, full of semi-tempered fury.

"What brings this up?"

"Don't play stupid with me, you and I both know that he's suffering. He refuses to drink human blood, a move for which I fully support him, and he can't take the tablets unless he would like to regurgitate his intestines!"

"And you want to let him bite you! Are you that thick? One bite-"

"Yes, I'm very aware of that now answer me!" I don't exactly remember standing up, but low and behold I was shouting at my ethics professor.

"Look," Yagari put his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on a vampires drink preferences. Truthfully I don't know for sure."

"Great, fat lot a help you were…"

"However," Yagari cut in. "If you want an expert on blood and what vampires can tolerate, I would suggest talking to Aido. He's been working on developing a more _palatable_ blood substitute. If anybody would know, it'd be him."

My heart dropped into my shows. I really didn't want to go looking for vampires. I certainly didn't want to ask for their help. But this is for Zero.

"Where can I find him?"

"He's in his dorm, just like all the other vampires." Yagari spat on the floor beside him, fuckin' gross.

"Fine," I turned to leave, then thinking better of it. I threw a quick thanks over my shoulder.

Just as I reached the door I heard Yagari call out. "Parquet, help him. Please…"

"Don't worry, I will." I left the lecture hall.

I half jogged to the barn. While I did, I formulated a plan in my mind. First I needed Zero's cologne. If I was going to sneak into the Moon Dorms, then I would need something to mask my scent when I left. I'd also need to figure out how I'd find Aido specifically. I haven't caught his particular scent so I'd have to meet him by chance.

I could also get caught on purpose. Somebody is always patrolling the fence line from the inside. If I made sure that he caught me, he'd take me to their leader. Kaname might be sympathetic and let me speak to Aido, or I could lie and say I want to help with the development of the blood tablets. Yeah I think I'll go with that, at least I'm not completely lying.

I reached the barn and found Zero passed out in a small patch of soft straw. I gingerly tip-toed over and being careful not to wake him, I reached into his pants pocket and stole his cologne and pocketed it. He must've been out cold because even when his horse gave the loudest grunt of indignation ever, he didn't stir.

"Shh! We can't wake him." I whisper-shouted at the mare. Yes, I 'm talking to a horse.

She gave me a derisive look. "Look, Lilly is it, I'm trying to help Zero but I need this stuff and I need him to stay asleep. So could you please not let anybody disturb him?"

I don't know how much of that Lilly understood but when I headed for the door; she didn't raise any protest.

It wasn't too difficult to find the Moon Dorms; all I had to do was follow the smell of blood sucker and BAM! There I was. I circled the cement fencing for a good place of entry when I saw a tree with branches hung over the side of the fence.

"Oh this is just too easy." I muttered as I dug my nails into the trees bark. It was a steep climb but thankfully the bark was thick and rough sot there wasn't much chance of losing my grip and falling.

I climbed onto one of the overhanging branches and dropped down onto the grass below. I made sure to rattle the branch as I went. I sniffed the air and internally gagged. It smelled sickly sweet, like somebody sprayed perfume everywhere. It was damn near vomit inducing.

I skulked around the inside of the fence, constantly sniffing the air and it didn't take long to catch the scent of whoever was patrolling. I recognized the scent; it was the guy that attacked me when I first came here. Senri was his name I think?

As if on cue, Senri came into view. His back was to me and there wasn't much of a breeze so he hadn't sensed me yet. I dropped down onto my haunches and stalked forward. I needed him to spot me; thank God tor conveniently placed twigs. I stepped forward and a twig snapped. Senri whirled 'round to face me. On instinct, I leapt forward and landed on the ground where Senri was just standing. He'd dodged to the side and landed on all fours. I turned to face him as he took off.

He was fast, I'll give him that. He'd taken off like a frightened deer and kept at it. He was too fast for me to tackle out right and I doubted he'd trip on his own. I'd have to do it myself. I pureed on the speed and ducked down low. I was within arm's reach of him and I stuck out my arm to grab his foot. Senri hit the ground hard and I wasn't quick enough to stop so we both went tumbling.

"Whoa there boy, calm down I'm not gonna hurt you." I panted.

"Really, then why did you keep chasing me?"

"You ran away and I just couldn't help myself. Sorry 'bout that,"

"Well, what are you doing here anyway?"

Well fuck me. I didn't think of that. I wracked my brain for an answer when I remembered who I was talking to. "I came partially to apologize for our first meeting. I should have stopped myself before. Somebody could've been seriously hurt."

Please buy it, please buy it!

"Alright, then I'll apologize too. I attacked you first and that was wrong. I'm sorry." Yes! He bought it.

""What was the other reason you're here."

"What?"

"You said you were _partially_ here for me. What was the other reason?"

"Oh, I was looking for someone. His name is Aido I think."

Senri looked surprised. "Aido, what do you want with him?"

"I have a question about his work on the blood tablets." Then I added in a rush. "Could you take me to him?"

Senri looked uneasily at me. "Alright but you can't kill him."

"Yes Senri, I'm going to make an attempt on a vampire's life under the nose of the headmaster while in the heart of their lair. What'd ya think I'm an idiot?"

Senri put his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm just making sure. Come on, they won't hurt you while you're with me."

We walked in silence up to the dorms. It was much nicer than the Sun Dorms, then again it is meant to hold less people but still. Senri lead me up a flight of stairs and up to the second floor. Several vampires poked their heads out of their dorms but true to his word, none of them tried anything.

Senri stopped in front of one of the doors. Senri knocked on the door and a vampire with wild blonde hair and bright blue eyes poked his head outside. He looked dead at me and without taking his eyes off me asked, "What is she doing here?"

"I had some questions about the blood tablets you're developing and I was hoping you could answer them."

Aido let out an exasperated sigh but opened the door. "Alright, come inside."

I stepped forward then sent Senri a reassured look, I stepped inside. Aido shut the door in Senri's face and leaned against it. "So you're not here about the blood tablets at all, are you?"

"Well, Aido, you're smarter than I would've given you credit for. No I'm not here about the blood tablets, not entirely at least."

"So what are you here for?"

"I have a question." I proceeded with caution. "Can a vampire drink werewolf blood?"

Aido grinned maliciously. "I don't know for sure but if I'm not mistaken, vampire bites are extremely unpleasant experiences for werewolves."

"Yes, now answer me!"

"I don't know for sure but we can test it. First, we'll need some of your blood. That is if you're willing to donate some of course"

I felt my face pale. "What do you mean 'test it'?"

"Come, let me show you." He walked past me towards the desk at the corner of the wall and took out a microscope with slide and two small vials. One of the vials was empty but the other was full of what was most definitely blood.

"I'll need a small sample, one vial will do."

I sighed. "All right then hand me the vial."

Aido gave me a quizzical look but handed it to me anyway. I uncorked it and held my wrist to my mouth. The moment I felt the skin start to break, I pulled back and ran my nail in the small cut until it started to leak blood. I set the opening of the vial to my wound and pressed my wrist 'till the vial was half full. I recorked it and handed it to Aido. Then I ran my tongue along the cut and watched it stitch itself together.

"Well, that was interesting. I'll admit you blood smells fantastic." His eyes unfocused for a moment before continuing. "Now the testing may take a while so you may have to wait."

"Alright, but how are you going to let me know the results? It would raise several eyebrows if you were to simply walk up to me seemingly out of nowhere."

"Hmm, tell you what, come to the switch-over tonight. I should have the results of our little experiment by then. If I'm silent then assume that it was a failure and do not give anyone your blood, however if I happen to _cause a stir_ , then the experiment was a success."

"Great! But what exactly do you mean by 'cause a stir?'"

"Oh trust me; you'll know what I mean. Now run along, I have an experiment to do."

I walked past Aido over to the nearby window, opened it, and jumped out. I landed on the balls of my feet then sprinted to the cement fencing and jumped up. I caught the top of it and used all my strength to pull myself up and over the side.

Just as the bell rang signaling the end of last hour, I reached the barn. Just before I entered the barn however, I doused myself in as much cologne as I could and slipped inside. Thankfully, Zero was still fast asleep. I snuck over to where he was lying and took out the cologne and set it beside him. I kneelt close beside him and started to gently shake him awake.

"Zeroooooo, it's time to get up!"

He groaned a little in protest but sat up anyway. His glasses had gone a bit askew on his face and he gingerly corrected them. His eyes were still a burning red.

"What time is it?" He groaned, scratching the side of his head.

"Last hour just ended. I had to run to get here."

That seemed to wake him up. He shot to his feet and began to brush away the stray strands of straw still stuck to his coat. I picked up the bottle of cologne that was still on the ground and handed it to him.

"Here, this must've fallen outta your pocket while you were asleep." He took the bottle from me and thankfully didn't raise any suspicions.

"Thanks now come on. I have to monitor the switch-over and I don't want to be late."

" _Oh joy!_ " Ah sarcasm, how I love thee. "I've never seen the switch-over."

" _Well, then you're in for a real treat!_ "

"Oh am I?"

"Yes and pigs can fly." Note to self; somehow get a pig to fly so Zero can eat his words.

"Well at least you have the energy to be snide."

He didn't say anything, instead he turned to leave. He still had bits of straw stuck to his back. I considered letting him go out like that. Damn my conscience, damn it to hell.

"Hold up, you still got some straw on you, let me get it." I brushed the back of his coat. I felt the muscles in his back tense but he didn't pull away. He did give me a confused look from over his shoulder which I will fully admit to being quite satisfying.

"Alright, go on now. I'm right behind you." He walked forward slowly. I did the same but on a whim turned back and mouthed a quick thanks to Lilly. I don't know if she understood me but as I turned to leave, I could've sworn I saw her bob her head in an unmistakable nod.

I could hear them long before I saw them. Several dozen Day Class girls were gathered outside the gates to the Moon Dorms screaming their heads off. They sound was deafening. What was more deafening was the silence when they saw Zero and I approach. The crowd split down the middle and formed two lines on either side of the gates. I took a place near the end of the line but Zero continued on without me.

I'd never really thought of Zero as a vampire. I mean, sure I knew he was one. But he'd always been so nice, if a bit moody, but I guess I'd never fully internalized it. I had no trouble believing it now. He stood just left of the gate and scanned the crowd. A slow murmur had begun to grow amongst the crowd and whenever Zero's gaze would focus on any of them in particular, they'd go silent again.

As the minutes ticked by, the crowd grew louder and more restless. Some got a bit bolder and stepped out of line only to scurry back. I braved a glance at Zero only to see him glowering at the gates as if they'd insulted his parents or something. Then the gates opened and the Night Class stepped out.

The smell was revolting and the murmurs of the crowd grew to a loud chatter. I watched them walk through the aisle when I heard the voice I'd been so anxious to hear.

"Evening ladies!" Aido cooed. "Aww, why so quiet; has mean ol' Zero been acting like a bully again?"

It was like setting off a bomb. The noise of agreement was overwhelming. I hadn't seen Zero's reaction thought judging by Aido's sudden desire to pick up the pace; I'm guessing it wasn't good. I was too busy internally celebrating. I had my answer. This certainly qualified as 'a stir' so that meant I could safely give Zero my blood and not kill him.

I sent a silent thanks to Aido when he appeared before me or more accurately before the person standing next to me. I looked over to see…

"Hello Yori, it's nice to see you again." Yori looked more than confused.

"You too, I guess…"

Aido flashed a toothy grin and was about to say something when he was interrupted. Zero stepped out in front of me and though I couldn't see his face, I could tell by his voice that he was livid.

"Aido, I think you should get to your class." He added in a lower tone. "Before I send you there in a matchbox."

Aido looked unfazed. "Alright Mr. Disciplinary Committee, I'll go. See you later Yori." He strode away confidently. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kanname Kuran giving Aido his own brand of death glare.

"What are you all still doing here? Get back to your dormitories NOW!" I hadn't noticed but the entirety of the crowd's eyes were fixated on Zero. At his command they all dispersed. It was then that Zero turned on Yori and me.

"That includes the two of you." I could see a faint reddish glow from beneath his sunglasses. I didn't need to be told twice. I grabbed Yori's arm and dragged her in the direction of the Sun Dorms.

When we were a good way out of earshot I asked Yori the question the question that was plaguing my mind.

"Is he always like this during the switch-over?"

"No, at least not to this extant, he's always a little stern but I can't remember him yelling at another student like that. Unless it was Kanname of course."

"Oh, that's a little unsettling."

"Don't worry," Yori whispered. "I'm sure his bad mood is only temporary."

"Boy I hope so," Then another question popped into my head. "Hey, what was that bit with Aido about?"

"I have no idea." Note to self, teach Yori how to lie better.

After that, we walked in silence. We parted ways at the top of the second floor stairs. I took the key out of my pocket and unlocked my dorm door. Thankfully there weren't any unwanted vampires hiding inside. I shut the door quietly and began to get ready for bed. All the while I continued thinking about my blood problem. I had an indirect answer from Aido; werewolf blood was sage for vampires. Now all I needed to do was get some of mine into a bottle and…

There was the rub. How was I going to convince Zero to drink it? If I knew Zero, he'd want to continue to starve himself out of his own self-deprecating pride. I could slip it into something else and trick him into drinking it or I could force him to do it.

That seemed like the only option. I remembered Aido saying something about my blood smelling good so I wonder if Zero got too thirsty then would he drink it. I hated counting on my friends failing resolve but it was all I had.

I sat there pondering for a moment when I heard something being put on my window sill. I crossed the room and slowly opened the window. Sitting on the lip that I'd used to climb into Zero's dorm was a large glass vial with a note inside. I took the bottle and set it on the desk before shutting and locking the window. I uncorked the bottle and unfurled the note. I didn't need to be a hand-writing expert to know who wrote it.

 _I don't really care why you need this, but I know you do. Be very careful, a friend of mine got herself into a very bad spot by sharing her blood with a vampire._

 _Know your limits._

 _KK_

I slipped the note into my desk drawer and looked at the bottle. It was surprisingly large and I guessed it could hold about a pint of liquid. I don't even want to begin to imagine how he knew about this.

I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled up my sleeve. The cut from earlier was now a placid white color. This was as good a place as any. I put my teeth to my wrist and bit down then I pulled back. My wrist started to gush blood and I quickly put the bottled to my wound and waited. It took about ten minutes to fill it completely and by I almost passed out.

I quickly recorked the bottle and set it on the floor. I then ran my tongue along the cut on my arm and watched as it stitched itself together. I scooted it under my bed and fell back. I was gonna make Zero drink if it killed me.


	6. Chapter 6

_Running, that's what I kept doing. Even when I was phasing and un-phasing, I kept on running. It didn't hurt at first; it felt more like a gentle tingle was running up and down my body. I guess my body refused to feel any more pain._

 _When I came to a stop however, it all came over me at once. It was like somebody was stabbing me with iron needles that they'd heated over a fire beforehand. I bit my lounge to stop myself from screaming. I looked over at my arm and saw that it was red and raw. I had a feeling that it was like this all over. After a while though the pain eventually subsided; or at least the physical pain did._

 _I kept crying though. I'd sobbed the entire two mile run to the lake. When I phased in, I whined mournfully, I couldn't dare risk a howl. Whoever was burning down my house was sure as hell gonna come looking for me. Still, the idea that my family, my pack, was dead was just too horrible a concept to think about._

 _I remember reaching the lake about half an hour after the sun had risen. I sat just inside the tree line with my clothes in tatters around me. I had managed to shed most of them while running (don't ask how I managed that) but still some had gotten torn and frayed in my haste. I scanned the lake for any signs of life, there weren't any._

 _By mid-day, I was sure there wouldn't be anybody coming so I redressed and took off. Despite myself, I let out a low mournful howl._

I woke with a start, the only light in the room coming from the clock on the nightstand. That would be the second time in the past two weeks I've relived that night. I looked at the clock, 4:30 am. Joy!

I got up, grabbed a spare uniform and cleaned myself off. What I was about to do was demonstrably risky. Zero could violently reject my offer. He could resent me for even offering myself as a living blood bank. Yes, he did need it and he was going to drink it. Even if I had to shove the bottle down his throat, he was going to drink.

When I was all cleaned up and dressed, I grabbed the vial from under my bed. It was a little unnerving looking at a bottle of my own blood. I clutched the bottle close to my chest as I climbed onto the lip of the fire escape. It was slow going but I made it work. When I knocked on the window, nobody answered. That was odd. I knocked again and still no sign of life from inside. I hesitated for a moment then let myself in.

I found him lying on his bed. He was very much awake and alert and again in his underwear. Classic Zero! I set the vail on the window sill when I climbed in. He glared at it with a look of both intense loathing and want.

"Well, this explains a lot **."** Zero said his voice far off and distant.

"I'm guessing you smelt me last night."

"Every vampire on campus could smell that."

"Yay!" Even in the most serious of moments, I'm still an ass.

"You scared me quite badly last night." His voice was still dreamy and his gaze was quite far off. "I thought you had hurt yourself because of me."

"What'd make you think that?" I had a funny feeling that I already knew the answer.

He sighed deeply. "Yesterday, I snapped at you. I shouldn't have done that. When you left, I felt so guilty and when I smelt your blood…"

"Zero, I would never hurt myself just because you were in a bad mood." I crawled over to his side and rested my head on the edge of the matters. "If nothing else, I did this to help you."

He sat bolt upright. "What do you-?"

"Zero, you're in a lot of pain. You can't sleep, your eyes are so red and discolored that you have to wear sunglasses to hide it and I've never heard you yell at anybody like that. You need this!"

"But what if-?"

"It won't hurt me, I asked and this stuff is as safe for you as water." I grabbed the vial and held it aloft. "Now drink."

"I can't Yu- Karasu; I can't do that to you." That stung, a lot.

I decided to play dirty. Aido mentioned that my blood smells good and judging by his fixation on the bottle, Zero agrees. I leaned up to look him square in the face. I held the bottle up and uncorked it. The pop of air sent a blast of scent right into his face. For added affect, I swirl the glass vial around to waft even more of the smell into the air.

"Yes you can Zero. Now please drink it, for me."

The affect was instantaneous. His eyes grew dangerously bright and his breath held itself in his throat. His expression was that of someone being electrocuted. He reached a very shaky hand out and clasped the vial firmly in his hand. He gingerly put it to his lips and began to drink.

Despite his earlier hesitation, once he started drinking he couldn't stop himself. His gulps were greedy and what took me ten minutes to fill took Zero a minute to drain. When he pulled back; his mouth was stained red and a pair of long white fangs were protruding from his mouth. Zero pulled himself into a ball. His eyes were still burning red but now they were cloudy with tears. I didn't think it was possible but here it was. Zero was crying.

I climbed up onto the bed beside him and wrapped my arms 'round his shoulders. His head lulled against my shoulders so out of instinct I nuzzled the top of his head affectionately. His breathing was slow and ragged and after a few moments of pained silence he spoke.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't be acting like this. It's not fair to you." Zero sniffed.

"It's alright Zero, everybody has those times when all they need is a good cry. There's no need to be ashamed."

"Yes there is. When me and Yu- stopped talking, I told myself that I would never drink from another living being again. I kept that promise for damn near three months and tonight I broke that promise. I'm just as much of a monster as a Level-E."

"That's a load o' bullshit."

"How do you mean?" Zero looked up at me with shining (and thankfully purple) eyes.

"Well for one thing, I've never seen you attack a student. Second of all, you're probably the most kind-hearted and patient person I've ever met. Thirdly, you have enough restraint to hold back the urge to bite people even if it physically causes you pain. I know several werewolves that have trouble with that. Fourthly…"

"Okay Okay! I get it! I'm not a monster." Zero put his hands up in mock surrender.

"And hey listen, don't ever assume that just because you say something mean or yell at me for something, that I'll leave you. You're stuck with me friend; get used to it." Out of spite, I gave him a noogie.

He pushed me away but more in a playful sort of way. He was grinning. Woo, the playful Zero is back!

"Hey, you should probably get dressed. The sun'll be up soon and unfortunately you cannot go to class in your boxers. If only…"

"Oh, r-right, um could you um stand up and uh turn away?"

"Really this again?"

"Humor me."

"I'll never understand how Zero: the badass vampire/vampire-hunter who can stare down pure bloods, vampire hunters, and ME can still be afraid of getting dressed in front of a girl."

"Like I said, karma is indeed a fickle bitch."

"That may be true but I'm still not getting up."

"I could slam you into the wall…"

"Oh so that's what this is about?"

Zero's face flamed up and this time he pushed me clean off the bed and onto the floor.

"Point taken," I said as I peeled myself off the floor and stood facing a wall. I heard the familiar sound of rustling fabric as Zero dressed. Again I tuned into the sound of his heart and heard a light delicate flutter. Note to self, make more dirty jokes and collect date, evaluate accordingly.

When he finished, Zero came over and tapped me on the shoulder. His tie still wasn't tied right. "You know sometimes I think you intentionally incorrectly tie your tie just so I'll do it for you."

"Oh so you figured that out did you?" Holy balls I was right. Awesome!

Zero had to dawn his sunglasses again as he still had the dark bags under his eyes. And like the idiot he is he almost left without wiping the blood off his face. I stopped him just before he opened the door.

"Hold up stupid." I steered him over to the sink and took a damp rag and started to wash away the blood. Thankfully his fangs had retracted so when the blood was all gone he looked exceptionally ordinary.

"You do realize that I am eighteen years old and that I can wipe my face without help?"

"Actually I thought you were seventeen. Huh the more you know."

"Yeah I turn nineteen this year." Zero rubbed the back of his neck out of embarrassment.

"Oh really, I didn't know that either. Why such a late bloomer?"

"I missed a year of school. After I was turned I didn't attend school right away so…"

"No need to explain, I completely understand." And with that, we left the dorm.

That day was probably one of the most surreal days of my life. For one thing, Zero wasn't in severe pain and was actually quite pleasant. He was also able to stay awake for the entire day. Whatever's in my blood musta surely been workin' because Zero actually looked and acted alive.

His good mood seemed to have an effect on the student body because they were certainly more chipper and not in the 'I'm a hyperactive hormone fueled douchebag' kinda way either. More like they were generally more tolerable and even on the rare occasion pleasant.

Even Professor Yagari seemed less bitter and hateful. Oh sure, he didn't take anybody's shit but when class was over he pulled me aside and asked how Zero was. I told him that it had worked and that Zero would be back to normal at least for a little while.

The weird part was that Yagari gave me a kind smile, cursed at me (but in a friendly way) before sending me along.

This day was strange but somehow normal. If that's what you could call it.

Thee really strange part happened during P.E. We were running laps and for once I was actually enjoying myself. Weird I know but I was actually having a good time. Ever since my house burned down I've gotten a sick kick out of running really fast. It was fun to come out of nowhere and outrun the track stars with little effort. I have some issues.

The point is that I was running along the outer bend of the track; that particular part of the bend was facing some trees that were normally used for crossed country. So I was skirting 'round the outermost edge of the bend when I saw a pair of great big yellow eyes. When I went back to the spot where I saw the eyes (with Zero's accompaniment) and they were gone. Whoever it was though certainly didn't wanna be found because they'd done their best to cover their tracks and I couldn't pick up a scent at all. Weird…


	7. Chapter 7

The weekend came far too quickly. For one thing I had far too much homework to do and I was not eager to get started on it. I had planned on going back to my dorm room and flop down on my bed. Unfortunately for me, the universe hates my guts.

For one thing, Aido left a note on my window sill. I could tell it was Aido because it was A. (It was signed by him and B. (it was written with an arrogant flourish. The note read…

 _Dear Karasu,_

 _Come to the Moon Dorms on Sunday. I want to discuss further research options. Don't worry about the other Night Class students; Senri will be the one to escort you. The others won't harm you as long as you're in his company._

 _Hanabusa Aido_

 _PS_

 _Make sure you come alone._

That asshole! He snuck into my room and left a note! If he's gonna break into my room while my window was both shut and locked just to leave a message; he could at the very least stick around and deliver it in person. Also, since when did I start becoming okay with the idea of vampires breaking into my room. Probably about the same time I decided to start breaking into theirs. God my life is fucked up!

I suppose it was a good thing that Aido didn't stick around because almost instantly after pocketing the note I heard a soft knock at the door. It couldn't have been Zero; he doesn't exactly knock softly if he even knocks at all. So this had to be Yori.

Turns out I was right. When I opened the door I found Yori on the other side. She looked a bit remise.

"Hey Yori, welcome to my- well it's not very humble, more like desolate abode. Yeah that about sums it up; please come in!" She gave me an apprehensive look but entered.

"Are you okay? You've been acting weird all day and it's starting to freak me out."

"What! I've been in a good mood today. Is that so weird?"

"Well, yeah it kind of is…" Again, Yori gave me an apprehensive look.

"Such great friends I have, I'm havin' a good day and they think I've gone 'round the bend!" Truth be told, I wasn't all that upset I was more relieved than anything else. Still, I can't resist the urge to be over dramatic.

"Oh no! I'm not saying that! I just wanted to be sure you weren't-"

"What, that I've been repressing some kind of deep emotional conflict and that I've come here to let it all out?" Yori wouldn't meet my eye.

"Come on kid, you know me. If I was upset about something, you'd hear about it or I'd skip class and give the gym teacher a heart attack." I put my hands on Yori's shoulders and gave her a toothy smile.

She wasn't entirely convinced. "Okay… but speaking of classes, have you started on that massive pile of homework yet."

"Ugh, no don't remind me!" I lulled my head back.

"Karasu, you know you can't put it off forever." Yori gave me a motherly look.

"I can try damn it!"

"Listen, would it make it easier if I helped you study?"

"Yeeeees!"

"Alright, grab your bag. We're going to the library."

"Yes, mother," I let go of Yori's shoulders and grabbed my bag.

The Sun Dorms had a library on the first floor. It also had a lounge area as well as a cafeteria. I assume this is to discourage _class mixing_ , in reality it only made kids into weekend shut-ins. Most of the kids had left to watch the switch-over. Zero was of course absent which was a shame because I actually wanted to study with him. Yori sat us down at a table near the back.

"So, let's start with Government and work out from there." She pulled out her binder and I had no choice but to follow suit.

It was slow going, not because I wasn't getting the material but because I kept getting distracted. First my brain couldn't stop tuning into the sound of the librarian filing away books. Then the evening birds came out and would not shut up. When I got the very distinct urge to grab one of them and nom on it, I shut the window. Cut me a break, I haven't had fresh meat in weeks and I miss it.

When Kaseumi came over, I knew my chances of finishing my work were fucked. "What's up Class Rep?"

"Oh nothing important, I'm just trying to work. You?"

"I'm trying and failing to do the same."

"Well I'll be damned, Karasu Parquet actually trying to get her homework done. Let me look outside, perhaps I'll see the pigs that are most surely flying!" Class Rep made a show of going to the window and looking around.

"Class Rep, as funny as your attempt at humor is, we both do have work to do." Yori looked patiently at Class Rep.

"Actually I was hoping if I could join you. I haven't had a proper study group since last year." Class Rep pulled out a stack of papers and started to work.

For about twenty minutes, we sat there in comfortable silence. Finally my head quieted down enough to let me work and I managed to make a sizable dent in my work when Zero just had to come by and ruin it. Asshole!

"Well do my eyes deceive me, or are you actually working Karasu?" Zero cocked a brow at me.

"Why's it so hard to believe that I actually care about academics?"

"Well you've skipped classes more than once…" Class Rep said from behind his book.

"You've shown nothing but contempt for the staff and the students,' Yori put in.

"And as long as I've known you, I can't recall you ever doing work outside of class." Zero finished with one of his rare grins.

"Okay fine, I'm a shitty student. I admit it; I've been more focused on helping others rather than helping myself. Happy now?" I gave Zero a meaningful look.

"Zero, aren't you supposed to be patrolling the grounds tonight?" Class Rep looked over at Zero with an accusatory glare.

"I do, yes but that doesn't mean I'm going to actually do it."

"Typical you, always willing to exercise your authority when it's convenient for you." Class Rep spat.

I looked over at Yori; she had her head determinably bent low in a book. She must not be one for arguments which is funny because she sure can make a convincing one.

"At least I know when my company isn't wanted," Zero did not look away, and though his eyes were obscured, I could tell they were burning.

"I could say the same for you." Class Rep clearly didn't have much sense for self-preservation.

Zero was on his feet in an instant; all traces of his good mood were gone. "Would you rather we take this outside Kageyama?"

At that point, I intervened. "Hey guys, can we not do this here, 'kay thanks that'd be great."

They did not break eye contact, not even when took my stuff and dragged Zero outside. His eyes had thankfully cooled down. When I had dragged Zero out of the library, I'd seen Yori giving Class Rep that same disapproving motherly look.

"Zero, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Fine: Freaked out, insecure, neur-"

"Alright! I'm a bit annoyed; now what of it?"

"Well, I was just wondering why you and Class Rep are always at odds, that's all."

Zero sighed. "Class Rep and I have never exactly seen eye to eye. He's under the impression that I enjoy my Prefect duties. It's a damn thankless job and I can't fucking stand it. Especially since…"

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say that Yuki was the other member of the Disciplinary Committee." Zero only nodded.

"I'm also gonna guess that staying on after she transferred to the Night Class was not your decision."

"Headmaster Cross said that the Day Class still needs to be kept away from the Night Class. So I have to continue my duties until I graduate at the end of the school year." He did a little shrug.

I got an idea. "Hey, how 'bout you and I patrol the grounds together. Just like ol' times." Zero looked at me, and then he smiled the warmest of smiles.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

"Great, but first," I reached up and took the sunglasses off him and thank God his eyes had returned to their natural purple pigment. "No more sunglasses for you mister, your eyes are back to normal and I kinda miss seein' 'em."

"Alright, now come on." He stuffed his glasses into the front pocket of his blazer and we left the Sun Dorms.

We got back to the dorms around midnight. Zero looked a bit tired but not completely exhausted. The bag that was slung 'round my back was starting to weigh more and I swear there must've been something eating my feet 'cause they were on fire. I still hate wearing these boots.

"How do you do this every night; it's damn near exhausting."

"You get used to it after a while."

"That's a little depressing Zero."

"Hey, if you don't wanna do it anymore, you don't have to." He looked at me imploringly.

"Oh hell no, you're not getting rid o' me that easily. We're friends 'till the end, got it?"

He smiled. "Got it!"

"Good now I need sleep. Unlike you, I need my beauty sleep."

"No you don't, trust me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. I still need to sleep." I made my way towards the stairs. I was about half way up when Zero called out.

"You sure you don't need me to walk you to your room. You could collapse on the way there."

"Goodnight Zero." I called back. I unlocked my dorm and went inside, alone.

The next morning, I woke up at 8 o' clock. I hoped to God Zero had gotten some sleep. If anybody deserved a stay in bed day then it was Zero. I was running low on clothes so I did my laundry. The best thing about doing the laundry is that it's a task you don't have to focus on so your mind can be freed up with more important things.

I used my freed up thoughts to decide if I should go and talk to Aido or not. On the one hand, the idea of developing a blood tablet that Zero could keep down was incredibly tempting, but on the other hand I felt incredibly guilty. Zero was devoting an exuberant amount of his free time to protecting me and the rest of the Day Class from the vampires and here I was heading willingly into their lair. Sure it was to help Zero and it could even be useful in helping keep all the vampires at bay. Still, something just felt wrong about it.

I hadn't fully reached a decision by the time my laundry was finished so when I had folded it all up, I decided to work on the last of my homework. When I had finished it, checked and double checked it to make sure it was right. I hadn't decided. Out of habit I looked over to the clock and saw that it was half past noon. Good lord, how much sleep did one boy need?

At that moment I made up my mind. I was going to meet Aido again.

Sunday was cold and bitter; the first real cold day of the year. I didn't bother waiting up for Zero; I simply got dressed and left the Sun Dorms. It was too early for most of the other students to be up and I wondered if the vampires were up. They are creatures of the night after all.

I came to the same over-hanging tree I'd used to get in the last time and climbed over the wall. I still made a note to rattle the leaves on the branch; better o not startle them. When I touched down I was met almost instantly by Senri. The whites of his eyes were a bright red and I remembered that he would normally be asleep right now.

"Good morning sunshine, the earth say's hello." Ah mother, even dead you still manage to make me smile with your terrible jokes.

"What's so great about it?" He yawned hugely.

"Well somebody's a bit grumpy this mornin' eh?"

"I am NOT a morning person."

"I can tell." I gave him my best 'cheer up' smile. It didn't work.

"Come on, you'll be with Aido in the lab today. Please try and be quiet." He turned towards the dormitories and walked off without another word.

We found Aido in a lab on the first floor. Unlike the rest of the building, it had harsh white walls and cold tile floors. All along the walls were shelves and cabinets lined with beakers that were full of various fluids, most of it being different variants of blood.

Aido was bent low over a microscope but when we entered the room he looked up at us. His hair was wilder than usual and the whites of his eyes were also a vivid red. The stupid part of my brain noted that he looked like a meth dealer. Come to think of it that would explain a lot. No shut up brain.

"Ah Karasu, yes it's so good to see you again. Come in, come in. Oh Senri, you can go back to bed now. I'll make sure she gets out safe." Without looking at me, Senri left the room.

"Now, since the last time we met, I've been running all kinds of tests on your blood. You know, seeing how it reacts with human blood, animal blood, vampire blood and all that grand stuff. And what I've discovered is absolutely fascinating. Okay so-"

"Um Aido have slept in the past week?"

"No not really." He grinned at me. "Anyway, so what's interesting about your blood is that when combined with human blood, it assimilates it completely. I guess that means you can't participate in a blood drive. However, when it's mixed with animal blood, nothing happens. They just sit there."

"So what happens when it's mixed with vampire blood?"

"Well that's the fun bit. You see when it's combined with vampire blood; it's the vampire blood that assimilates the wolf blood. What's even better is that this newly christened blood can absorb glucose and iron (two of the main ingredients in the blood tablets) much more efficiently."

"So you're saying that a vampire could get stronger by drinking werewolf's blood."

"If the data holds true, yes!" I couldn't contain my smile. Aido's enthusiasm was infectious. "Now here's why I brought you here."

"Uh-oh,"

"This isn't your strongest form is it? No my guess is that it would be when you're phased in. Tell me would you be willing to let me take a sample next full moon; if I'm not mistaken it'll be on Wednesday."

"Oh fuck me!"

"No thanks, I don't think it's my place." I ignored him.

"Ugh! How could I've forgotten?"

"Well, you have been rather concerned about your dear friend. Perhaps so much so that your body simply forgot about everything else."

"Yeah, so I've been told."

"Hmm, let me make a note of that." Aido rushed over and scribbled something on a yellow notepad.

I was so busy worrying about the full moon that I'd almost forgotten Aido'd asked a question. "Sure, you can take a sample during my phasing and I promise I won't tear you apart in the process."

Aido grinned at me more broadly. "Excellent, then are business is done. Come along, I'll walk you back."

We walked in awkward silence out of the Moon Dorms. Aido was skipping happily and it the waning sunshine he looked almost ghostly white. When we reached the part of the wall that the tree hung over I said my goodbyes and just to be nice I threw a quick 'get some sleep will ya' before departing.

The air was much colder than before and the ground had gotten noticeably damper. I still had to wash away the vampire stench so I rolled around in the shortcut I took when I first came here. I found out later that Zero had slept the entire day so he wouldn't have noticed my absence. How convenient is that? The idea that Zero had slept four a solid 24 hours was a little disconcerting. It would've been way more work to explain why I was gone for an entire day than just saying that I didn't want to wake him up.

When I got back to my dorm, I didn't even bother undressing. I just threw my boots haphazardly into a corner and lay on my bed, thinking hard.

How on earth was Aido gonna get a blood sample when I was phased in. I'm sure Professor Yagari wouldn't allow him anywhere near me even if he hated the Night Class. And more importantly, what would Zero do if he caught him? If Aido told him what he was actually doing, I'm almost sure Zero would pitch him off the roof. As much as I dislike the vampires here, Aido's research is far, far too important and truth be told; I've become kinda invested in the project despite my messily part in it.

All this thinking was starting to give me a migraine. Just as I was drifting off to sleep however, I heard my LOCKED window open. In the dim light of the moon (when did it become nighttime) I could just make out the ghostly white figure slid in through the window and perch on the sill. His eyes were a brilliant shade of cinnamon.

"Jesus Christ what is it with you and breaking into my dorm room. Does it like get you off or somethin'?"

"No, not particularly," Kaname responded flatly. "I see you're still awake. Good it saves me the trouble of waking you."

"What the hell do you want?"

"To give you a warning since you didn't head my last two."

"What'd mean by that?"

"Do you remember the first time we met?"

"Unfortunately,"

Kaname continued as if I hadn't spoken. "I said that the members of the Night Class would not harm you but you were not to tempt them. In the note I left, I said to be careful about who you give your blood to. This is my final warning, be careful with the Night Class."

I got up outta bed. "What the hell is your problem? You break into my room for the third time and tell me to stay away from vampires. I'm sorry but I think that's a bit of a contradiction. Also, it's none of your business who I give blood to anyway but since you're so curious, I'll tell you. Aido has been taking samples from my blood to develop a better blood tablet and the only reason I've agreed to help him is so that he might create a tablet that Zero could keep down!"

"So you're willing to rick your own life, risk having Zero develop a taste for you, just to help a vampire. The species you outwardly despise."

"Yes, I am. It's called having mutual compassion for other people that you aren't currently fucking. Perhaps you should try it sometime!"

Kaname's eyes went dark and for a brief moment I thought he was going to pounce on me but he stayed perched up on my window sill. "Fine, then if that's what you truly want then I will not stand in your way. I'll just say this. I gave Zero the opportunity to himself. I presented him a cure for his insatiable thirst and he did not take it. This is Zero's choice and he has to live with the consequences."

I walked over to the window sill and put my hands on either side of Kaname's shoulders. "Yeah but that doesn't mean he has to suffer alone." I pushed him as hard as I could out the still open window.

He hit the ground with a thud. He did get up which was a shame. I slammed my window shut as hard as I could and made sure it was locked. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) Kaname did not come back up to fight me. I still didn't go back to bed though. I had fresh thinking to do.

What did he mean by offering him a cure? As far as I knew there is no cure for vampirism. So what could he have meant? Of course there was the option that he was just full of shit. I don't know though; something about that just seemed far too genuine.

I'd have to ask Zero about it. I'd have to tell him the truth about why Kaname was here or at least part of the truth. I don't know when I became okay with lying to him about something as big as this but I know I have to. Something told me Zero wouldn't like the idea of me working with vampires. Still would Zero still tell me the truth? Yes, yes he would. If there was one thing I loved about Zero, it's his brutal honesty.

Then there was Kaname's eyes going all dead and gloomy. I had no idea what I meant about the whole compassion thing but whatever he thought I said; it had made him down right furious. I wonder if people had called him a psycho before. Or maybe he'd thought of that himself and was scared that it had just been confirmed. Some part of me felt a little bad for potentially sending him into an existential crisis.

I quickly shut that part of me right up.

I crawled back into bed. I would have a lot of questions for both Zero and Aido.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Whelp! It's been a while since my last update, so I'm leaving a note. Unfortunately this will be happening more often. You see, I'm stating school soon and since my studies come first I'll not be able to update as much as I would like. To make up for this however, I will be writing longer and more detailed chapters. As this is the point where the story really starts to ramp up plot-wise I don't think this will affect the story's flow too dramatically. So there, less frequent updates but more detailed ones to compensate.**

 **For your own safety, if you are not a fan of spoilers, scroll back up because I'm about to talk spoilers. If you are fine with that sort of thing, read on!**

 **This chapter was a lot of fun to write, between the study session to the little moment with Zero on the stairs and especially the entire bit with Aido. That was simply a joy to write. We need more Mad Scientist! Aido in our lives. Also, subtle (not subtle) arguments with Kaname are always a blast. Hooray with existentialism! Oh and the one sided rivalry with Zero and Class Rep is just a joy. And before anyone asks, no there isn't a love triangle. That would just be weird.**

 **Also I just wanted to say that I love the feedback I've been receiving from all of you. It really does motivate me to write more knowing that people are eager to read my work. Please, keep reviewing, it's much appreciated.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **Ash Turtle**

 **PS**

 **Also, there two very subtle reference to Harry Potter that nobody had gotten yet. I'm kinda shocked nobody got the first one (the most recent one, less so). I can't wait to see who finds them.**


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